Equipolymers is Fastest Growing PET Producer in Europe:
Leading Supplier to Beverage Bottle Producers

Equipolymers is a company dedicated to the manufacture and marketing of PET resins.

The company is a 50/50 global joint venture of The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) and Petrochemical Industries Company (PIC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation.

Equipolymers serves customers globally with production facilities in Schkopau, Germany. The company is Headquartered in Horgen, Switzerland, and led by President and CEO Graham Fox.

Equipolymers aims at being the preferred partner for brand-owners and other key value chain players in the PET market, through innovation-driven leadership and high-quality product standards.

Unique Strengths

Since its formation in 2004, Equipolymers has leveraged the unique strengths of its parent companies, Dow and PIC of Kuwait. Dow provided cutting-edge technology and modern, environmentally friendly production sites. PIC provides cost-competitive raw materials and energy and is committed to increasing its investment in downstream petrochemical markets.

Growth and Expansion

Equipolymers is currently building a third state-of-the-art PET production facility in Ottana, Sardinia, Italy. The new Italian plant will serve customers primarily in Southern European markets and will start-up in August/September 2007.

This expansion makes Equipolymers one of the fastest growing businesses in Europe – with three new plants built in the last in nine years. The new Ottana plant follows the successful start-up of similar facilities in Schkopau, Germany in 1998 and 2004.

The Ottana construction project is currently on time and on budget. The construction team has had an excellent safety record throughout construction, with no significant safety incidents during construction. Safety remains the number-one priority for Equipolymers at all locations.

About PET

Polyethylene terephthalate or PET has taken global packaging markets by storm. Thanks to excellent material properties like clarity, lightweight and sturdiness, it has become the material of choice for beverage bottles.

PET is a high performance material for the packaging industry and is widely used for the production of bottles for carbonated and non-carbonated mineral water, soft drinks, foodgrade vegetable oil, tea, juices, and isotonic beverages. PET is also used in the manufacture of containers for detergents, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, and for thermoforming applications. Increasing quantities of beer are sold in PET barrier bottles.

PET meets the strictest hygiene requirements for the packaging of cosmetics and foodstuffs, where product purity is paramount. It is a material with an extraordinary future, offering a unique combination of benefits throughout the value chain – from preform and bottle production, to consumers and end users.

Equipolymers Product Portfolio and Technology

Equipolymers provides a broad range of market-leading products which are sold and marketed under the trademark LIGHTER™. LIGHTER™ PET Resins are produced from PTA and MEG as the major building blocks.

LIGHTER™ C PET Resins

While LIGHTER C polymers have been specifically designed for the production of beverage, food, and other liquid containers, they are also perfectly suitable for thermoforming applications and are recommended for the production of extruded films and sheets.

• LIGHTER™ C88 is particularly suitable for bottling still or low carbonated mineral water.
• LIGHTER™ C93 is suitable for the production of both mineral water and carbonated soft drinks.
• LIGHTER™ C98 is preferred for bottles containing highly carbonated soft drinks, which require high mechanical properties and low gas permeability.

LIGHTER™ S PET Resins

LIGHTER™ S PET provide enhanced infrared heating rates, thus improving the operation of the stretch blow molding process, either increasing the maximum output or reducing the reheat energy.

• LIGHTER™ S93 is suitable for the production of bottles for both mineral water and carbonated soft drinks.
• LIGHTER™ S98 is particularly suitable for the production of bottles for strongly carbonated soft drinks.

Performance Characteristics

• Excellent transparency – its clarity enhances the presentation values of a product.
• Tasteless – satisfying very strict regulations for packaging food and drink.
• Lighter weight – improving margins through better transportation utilization and economics for the whole value chain (lower fuel consumption, reduced noise, and pollution).
• Outstanding processability – allows it to be processed reliably at high speeds.
• Good impact resistance – strong and practically unbreakable.
• Protective barrier in both directions – acts as an effective barrier for oxygen and carbon dioxide (for sparkling beverages).
• Design freedom – features great design flexibility.
• 100% recyclability – can be recycled for other applications using a variety of recycling procedures.

Capacity and Facilities

Equipolymers has world-class technology and production facilities providing global reach, while enabling our customers to grow their business by providing them with consistent and reliable resin supply.

The current Equipolymers production capacity of PET/PTA is about 335.000 metric tons/year (495.000 MT/year from 3Q 2007) with plants in Germany:

Schkopau, Germany:

• PET 1 facility with production capacity of 160.000 MT/year
• PET 2 facility with production capacity of 175.000 MT/year

Equipolymers is certified ISO 9001.

About Dow

Dow is a diversified chemical company that harnesses the power of innovation, science and technology to constantly improve what is essential to human progress. The Company offers a broad range of products and services to customers in more than 175 countries, helping them to provide everything from fresh water, food and pharmaceuticals to paints, packaging and personal care products. Built on a commitment to its principles of sustainability, Dow has annual sales of $49 billion and employs 43,000 people worldwide. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted. More information about Dow can be found at www.dow.com.

About PIC

PIC is one of six specialized subsidiaries of the state-owned Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC). PIC represents the petrochemical arm of KPC and produces fertilizer and petrochemicals. PIC has invested in the modernization of its fertilizer complex in Kuwait and expects to reach one million ton per annum of granular urea production. PIC also runs a more than 100,000 ton per annum polypropylene plant through an arrangement with EQUATE. PIC is committed to carrying out its operations in accordance with best industry practice and to ensuring that its facilities comply with the highest safety and environmental standards. For more information, visit www.pic.com.kw.