01/05/2009 - Süd-Chemie has taken over the specialist for foundry industry filter systems Hi-Tech at the end of the year

In the course of the closing end of December 2008, Süd-Chemie AG, Munich has acquired the ceramics filters business, which operates under the name of Hi-Tech, of the Cookson Group plc, London/UK.

With this expansion of its product portfolio Süd-Chemie, a global specialty chemicals company for adsorbents and catalysts, strengthens its leading market position for foundry chemicals. The purchase price will not be disclosed.

Hi-Tech, headquartered in Alfred Station, New York/USA, develops and produces fully sintered, reticulated ceramic filters, based on zirconia and alumina, for demanding applications in the foundry industry, particularly for investment casting, steel casting and iron large casting for more than 25 years. In North America, Europe and Asia Hi-Tech is the market leader in these sectors.

Filters lower the defect and reject rates in foundry processes by removing impurities from molten metal, for example. Thus, they are a key profit factor for foundry operators. For years now the market for high-quality foundry filters has enjoyed double-digit growth.

Munich, 5 January 2009

About Süd-Chemie

Süd-Chemie AG (www.sud-chemie.com) is a publicly quoted (Security Identification Number ISIN: DE0007292005; WKN: 729 200) specialty chemicals company headquartered in Munich, Germany and operating on a worldwide scale. Key markets served by its Adsorbents Division include the consumer-goods, packaging and foundry industries, as well as the paper and plastics industries and water treatment. Products manufactured by the Catalysts Division offer solutions for the chemical, petrochemical and refinery industries, for energy storage and hydrogen production, as well as off-gas purification. The common denominator of all its products and innovations is the efficient and sparing use of natural resources to enhance the quality of life for humans and the environment. Süd-Chemie generated sales of €1.075 billion in 2007, approx. 80% of these outside Germany. End of 2008, the group employed more than 6,400 people at 80 sales and production sites worldwide.