AlliedSignal licenses key high-efficiency, CFC-free refrigerant to DuPont.

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 28, 1996-- AlliedSignal Inc. (NYSE: ALD) said today that it has licensed to DuPont a key CFC-free refrigerant for use in the majority of home and commercial new-equipment air-conditioning applications. Terms were not disclosed.

The refrigerant, currently manufactured and marketed by AlliedSignal as Genetron(R) AZ-20 (R-410A), is a non-ozone-depleting HFC-based (hydroflourocarbon) replacement for HCFC-22 (hydrochlorofluorocarbon). AZ-20's unique characteristics can significantly enhance the energy-efficiency performance of new air-conditioning units.

HCFC-22 is the most widely used refrigerant in new-equipment air-conditioning applications. The compound's use in new equipment is scheduled for phaseout in the U.S. by the year 2010 under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

AlliedSignal's Engineered Materials President Fred Poses said the license agreement significantly strengthens the company's position in the global new-equipment air-conditioning market, which typically purchases 100 million pounds of refrigerant every year for use in new units.

"AZ-20 is integral to our company's long-term growth strategy in the approximately $1.5 billion global market for refrigerants," Poses said. "We foresee AZ-20's growth over the next decade to increase dramatically as more and more air-conditioning original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) convert their air-conditioning product lines to this environmentally safer and technically advanced product."

Until recently, most residential air-conditioning units typically used HCFC-22. The pending production phaseout of HCFCs has prompted air-conditioning equipment producers to search for long-term replacements.

According to the company's Fluorine Products President David Weidman, the agreement helps to establish AZ-20 as the standard non-ozone depleting refrigerant for new air-conditioning equipment.

"The residential air-conditioning market produces approximately five million units every year in the U.S. alone," Weidman said. "And each unit requires six-to-eight pounds of refrigerant. We anticipate a steady conversion to AZ-20 by OEMs, which will represent a consistent boost to our business' bottomline over the long-term and significantly elevate our distinct leadership position in the industry."

Weidman said AlliedSignal invented AZ-20 in the 1980s and has worked closely with major air-conditioning OEMs, such as Carrier Corp., to assist them in developing product lines that are compatible with AZ-20.

He added that Carrier Corp. recently selected Genetron(R) AZ-20 for use in its new, high-efficiency residential air-conditioner product line. York International also recently introduced AZ-20 units and other global OEMs are currently evaluating AZ-20 for their product lines.

"We are continuing to work closely with our global OEM customer base to assist them in realizing the tremendous advantages that AZ-20 can bring to their new-equipment designs," Weidman added.

Under the license, DuPont is permitted to manufacture and market the non-ozone-depleting R-410A under AlliedSignal's U.S. patent No. 4,978,467; its Canadian patent No. 2,065,456 and under patents applied for by AlliedSignal in other countries.

In selling R-410A as SUVA 9100, DuPont would be changing the current formulation of its SUVA 9100 from a 45/55 percent mixture of HFC-32 and HFC-125 to a 50/50 percent mixture, which is the same composition as AlliedSignal's AZ-20.

Genetron(R) AZ-20 possesses a greater energy efficiency, capacity and pressure than HCFC-22, and it can enable OEMs to produce smaller, more energy efficient equipment designs.

AlliedSignal Inc. is an advanced technology and manufacturing company, serving customers worldwide with aerospace and automotive products, chemicals, fibers, plastics and advanced materials.

CONTACT: AlliedSignal Inc., Morris Township

Tom Crane, 201/455-6073