Nanjing, China, 27 April, 2006 - Celanese today began construction on an emulsion polymers facility at the Nanjing Industrial Park in the city of Nanjing, China, its tenth such facility worldwide. Healthy economic growth throughout the world is driving demand for emulsion polymers that deliver better performance and quality in manufactured products. Celanese emulsion polymers will meet these needs for a broad range of markets in Asia, including nonwovens, adhesives, coatings products, and high tech glass fiber. When the world-class facility goes on-stream in summer 2007, Celanese will have a number of Chinese customers in place who will be incorporating the high quality emulsion polymers into new products engineered for performance.

Speaking at the groundbreaking, William Massa, Vice President for the Emulsions & PVOH business of Celanese, told guests that the new facility will play an important role in enhancing the quality and performance of hundreds of finished products made in China. “For example, Celanese emulsions are used to create high-tech glass fiber that will ultimately be used to produce everything from circuit boards to snowboards and from fiber optics to power boats,” he said. “Celanese is also delivering new technology for China’s paint industry, where our low emission VAE emulsions will help create premium paints that will not harm the environment and will help create healthier homes, offices and schools,” he added. “Celanese emulsions will also be used in adhesives that improve the products from China’s furniture and paper packaging industries.”

Celanese is also building a 600,000 metric ton acetic acid facility and a 300,000 metric ton vinyl acetate monomer plant at the Industrial Park, which will begin operations in early 2007 and 2008, respectively. When the emulsions facility comes on-stream in summer 2007, it will feature a state-of-the-art pressure reactor to create vinyl acetate ethylene (VAE), and conventional reactors to produce PVA emulsions. All of these facilities will make Celanese a fully integrated acetyls manufacturer in China and a trusted source of supply for decades to come.

To help manufacturers in China take full advantage of the performance benefits Celanese emulsion technologies have to offer, a technical service laboratory will also be constructed at the site. According to Massa, a team of Celanese technical service professionals will help deliver new ideas and better performance for customers. “Our technical service team will provide support and solutions for customers facing changing global market dynamics and the need for more innovative and better performing products,” he said.

Healthy economic growth throughout the world is driving demand for emulsion polymers in Asia, which is a fast-growing region for manufacturing products such as nonwovens, adhesives, coatings products and high tech glass fiber. According to Freedonia Group of Cleveland, Ohio, a research group, the emulsion polymers market will reach approximately $24 billion in market value in 2008, with a global growth rate of 6.1 percent over the next two years.

Celanese intends to sell to international companies manufacturing products in China, as well as to locally owned companies. The Emulsions & PVOH business has had a marketing and sales team in China for nearly a year and it is expected that significant output of this new facility will be supporting Chinese manufacturing sites when the facility starts up.

According to Massa, the new emulsions facility in Nanjing represents a new connection between the company, manufacturers and the people of China. “This connection will bring together ideas, energy and talent for a larger purpose. We will start by creating emulsion polymers in our facility. And then working with our customers in China, these emulsion polymers will be used to create better manufactured products that will be offered to the world’s markets,” he said. “Ultimately, we are creating a better life for the people who use these products and prosperity for the people who make them.”