SolVin, the European vinyls joint venture of Solvay and BASF, announces today that it is planning to expand the capacity of its plant in Jemeppe (Belgium), as part of a strategy to derive sustainable and profitable growth from dynamic global vinyls markets. Pending relevant regulatory clearance, annual capacity in Jemeppe will be lifted to 475,000 metric tons of fully integrated polyvinyl chloride (PVC) by 2009, up from 400.000 metric tons today. SolVin has already successfully reorganized its operations in Europe; the closing of its Ludwigshafen plant in 2006 was one of the major steps in this process.

The global market for vinyls has grown by more than 6% annually in recent years and is expanding by nearly 15% per annum in Eastern Europe or China. Vinyl is the preferred polymer for a number of construction, infrastructure and utilities applications which partially explains its success in the world’s most dynamic economies.

In the European Union (EU 27), the market has expanded significantly, with 600,000 tons in additional PVC consumption to date, compared with 2005. This was made possible by the
competitiveness of vinyl products in the context of structurally high oil prices.

Following a detailed assessment by the industry and independent bodies, Vinyl is recognized as a major contributor to sustainable products, on the basis of its moderate content of petroleum-based raw materials, its insulation, fire protection and energy-saving properties and its recyclability – thanks, in particular, to the Vinyloop® technology developed by Solvay.

In China, authorities are tempering existing and planned vinyl production capacities, due to growing environmental concerns over the acetylene-based production process which is operated there. By contrast, the ethylene-based technology implemented by SolVin consumes 50% less energy, with a considerably reduced environmental impact.

“The vinyls market has changed drastically in recent years,” commented Jean-Pierre Pleska, General Manager of the Strategic Business Unit Vinyls, Solvay. “The robust growth of the vinyl market offers significant business opportunities. Solvay ‘s vinyls subsidiaries - SolVin in Europe including Russia, Solvay Indupa in Mercosur and Vinythai in South-East Asia - are in the best position to grasp these opportunities, with top quality products, highly competitive production units and stateof-the-art technologies, which comprise full recycling,” added Jean-Pierre Pleska.

SolVin combines the competences of Solvay and BASF in the European vinyls sector. The synergies achieved in know-how and organization, the complementarities of product ranges as well as upstream integration have built up SolVin as a leader on the PVC and PVDC markets. The joint venture has operations in France, Germany, Spain and the Benelux countries and a total annual production capacity of 1.3 million tons of PVC, with nearly 2000 employees. Solvay owns 75% of SolVin and BASF, 25%. For further information, visit www.solvinpvc.com.

BASF is the world’s leading chemical company: The Chemical Company. Its portfolio ranges from chemicals, plastics, performance products, agricultural products and fine chemicals to crude oil and natural gas. BASF has approximately 95,000 employees and posted sales of €52.6 billion in 2006. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt (BAS), London (BFA), New York (BF) and Zurich (AN). Further information on BASF is available on the Internet at www.basf.com.

SOLVAY is an international industrial Group active in Chemistry. It offers a broad range of products and solutions that contribute to improving quality of life. The Group is headquartered in Brussels and employs about 19,000 people in 50 countries. In 2009, its consolidated sales amounted to EUR 8.5 billion. Solvay is listed on the NYSE Euronext stock exchange in Brussels (NYSE Euronext: SOLB.BE - Bloomberg: SOLB.BB - Reuters: SOLBt.BR). Details are available at www.solvay.com.

NOTES TO THE EDITORS:

The Solvay group is one of the world’s leading vinyls producer, ranking second in Europe and third globally. In addition to SolVin in Europe, the Group’s activities in polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and other products of the vinyl chain span across Asia and Latin America, through the affiliates Vinythai in Thailand and Solvay Indupa in Argentina and Brazil.

PVC or polyvinyl chloride, is a thermoplastic material derived from crude petroleum and salt. It is obtained by the polymerization of vinyl chloride (VC). PVC has a wide variety of applications in many sectors: Automotive, Construction, Chemical Industry, Consumer goods, Electrical equipment, Medical devices, Packaging, Water transport and environmental applications. The material’s most outstanding properties include:
• Stability: PVC is used extensively in membranes where resistance to weathering is a priority.
• Versatility: PVC can be rigid or flexible.
• Fire protection: PVC resists ignition thanks to its chlorine content.
• Longevity: PVC products can last up to 100 years in many applications.
• Hygiene: PVC is the material of choice for many medical applications.
• Protection: PVC can be made impervious to liquids, gases and vapors.
• Resource efficiency: Only 43% of PVC's content is derived from petroleum (the rest is salt-based).
• Recyclability: PVC is highly recyclable, thanks to Solvay’s proprietary Vinyloop® technology.

PVC manufacturing complies with the most rigorous regulations regarding safety and the environment, including the "Best Available Technology for PVC production" adopted unanimously by all 25 member countries of the Commission for Protection of the North Sea and the Atlantic (OSPARCOM), applicable since 2003.

For more information, please contact :
Richard THOMMERET
Marketing Manager
SolVin SA
Tél: 32 2 264 32 61