Also Breaks Ground for UHMW-PE and LFRT Plants in Nanjing, China

Guangzhou, Peoples Republic of China, 22 May 2007 – Ticona, the engineering polymers business of Celanese Corporation, announced plans today at Chinaplas 2007 to create a Customer Application Development Center in Shanghai. The center will support the growing use of its products in China and throughout Asia in the automotive, appliance, electronic, and other industrial and consumer markets.

On May 21, Ticona also held a ground breaking ceremony in Nanjing, China, for two new production plants, one for GUR® ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) and the other for Celstran® long fiber-reinforced thermoplastic (LFRT). Both facilities are being built in the Nanjing Chemical Industrial Park adjacent to the Celanese integrated acetyls complex. The UHMW-PE plant is scheduled to be operational in the second half of 2008, and the LFRT plant is projected to be online in early 2008.

“Our plans for the Customer Application Development Center, and the start of construction on the GUR UHMW-PE and Celstran LFRT plants, confirm our long-term commitment to China,” said Lyndon Cole, president of Ticona. “We want to ensure that our technical and application development in Asia is as strong, and all encompassing, as the support we now provide to our customers in Europe and the Americas.”

“As a customer-focused facility, this Center will provide local support for end-user application development and the transfer of application know-how,” Cole continued. “In general, it will be devoted to helping Ticona customers add value to the products they provide to their customers.”

"When completed in 2008, the Center will offer customers a wide range of application development and technical support," said Lindsey Deal, Ticona director of Asia business development. "We plan to provide services from engineering to molding trials to product and part testing, as well as trouble-shooting and customer training and support."

The Center will support the use of all products in the Ticona portfolio, including Hostaform® POM, Fortron® PPS, Vectra® LCP, GUR® UHMW-PE, Celstran® LFRT and its four polyester families – Celanex® PBT, Riteflex® TPC-ET, Vandar® PBT alloy, and Impet® PET. It also will address a broad range of applications for these products in traditional and emerging markets.
When completed, the new Center will be part of a global support network that includes similar Ticona centers in Kelsterbach, Germany, and Auburn Hills, Mich., USA. The Shanghai region was chosen for the facility because many Ticona customers have their headquarters and engineering facilities nearby.

In terms of the new production facilities, the GUR UHMW-PE plant being built in Nanjing will bring Ticona’s annual global capacity for this material to more than 90,000 metric tons. GUR UHMW-PE is currently made in Bishop, Texas, USA, and Oberhausen, Germany. Similarly, the new Celstran LFRT plant will raise the company’s annual global LFRT capacity to more than 35,000 metric tons. Celstran LFRT is currently produced in Winona, Minn., USA, and Kelsterbach, Germany.

About Ticona and Celanese
Ticona, the engineering polymers business of Celanese Corporation, produces and markets a broad range of high performance products , and achieved net sales of $915 million in 2006. Ticona employs approximately 2,000 individuals at production, compounding and research facilities in the USA, Germany and Brazil. As a global leader in the chemicals industry, Celanese Corporation makes products essential to everyday living. Our products, found in consumer and industrial applications, are manufactured in North America, Europe and Asia. Net sales totaled $6.7 billion in 2006, with over 60% generated outside of North America. Known for operational excellence and execution of its business strategies, Celanese delivers value to customers around the globe with innovations and best-in-class technologies. Based in Dallas, Texas, the company employs approximately 8,900 employees worldwide.