Albemarle to Expand Production of MARTINAL(R) ATH Flame Retardants

BATON ROUGE, La., June 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- To meet growing global demand for flame-retardant wire & cable compounds, Albemarle Corporation will expand the production capacity for its MARTINAL(R) fine precipitated aluminum trihydrate (ATH) flame retardants at its Bergheim, Germany-based "Martinswerk" manufacturing site.

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MARTINAL fine precipitated ATH is preferred as a filler and flame retardant in wire & cable and various other plastics and rubber applications processed below 200 degrees C because of the additive's environmental friendliness, non corrosiveness, recyclability and excellent smoke-suppressant properties. The projected capacity enlargement is set at 20,000 metric tons and is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

"This expansion will help preserve a sustainable source of these popular and highly effective mineral flame retardant fillers for the global wire & cable marketplace," said Wolfgang Hardtke, Albemarle global business manager for wire & cable flame retardants.

Albemarle and joint venture partner RHI Group earlier announced that their MAGNIFIN joint venture (MAGNIFIN Magnesiaprodukte GmbH & Co KG) had completed a similar capacity expansion for MAGNIFIN(R) flame retardants at Breitenau, Austria. MAGNIFIN mineral flame retardants are often preferred for halogen- free applications where processing temperatures exceed 200 degrees C.

Albemarle is the world's leading supplier of flame retardants and halogen- free, mineral flame-retardant fillers, and is the only supplier that produces both aluminum trihydrate (MARTINAL standard, ground, low-viscosity, and super- fine precipitates) and magnesium dihydroxide (MAGNIFIN finely crystallized) flame retardants. Learn more about MARTINAL and MAGNIFIN mineral flame retardants at http://www.martinswerk.com/plastics_e.aspx.

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading global developer, manufacturer and marketer of highly engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics; petroleum and petrochemical processing; transportation and industrial products; pharmaceuticals; agricultural products; and construction and packaging materials. The Company operates in three business segments-Polymer Additives, Catalysts and Fine Chemicals, and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Learn more about Albemarle at http://www.albemarle.com/.

Albemarle, Martinswerk, MARTINAL and MAGNIFIN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Albemarle Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.