AlliedSignal re-starts hydrofluoric acid (HF) production facility in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada.

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, NJ--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 21, 1996-- AlliedSignal Inc. (NYSE:ALD) said today that it is re-starting its idled hydrofluoric acid (HF) production facility in Amherstburg, Ontario, Canada.

The company said the start-up is in response to a continuing increase in the demand for HF by its North American customers.

HF is used to produce environmentally-safer fluorocarbon products that replace CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) in commercial refrigeration, air-conditioning, rigid-board-insulation and a variety of other applications. HF is also used in the production of chemical derivatives and by refineries, who use it in the alkylation process. The total annual volume of HF in the North American market is about 305,000 tons with an approximate value of $360 million.

"Bringing our Amherstburg HF facility back on-stream enables us to satisfy the growing needs of our North American HF customers," said David Weidman, president, AlliedSignal Fluorine Products, the world's largest HF producer.

"The increased demand for HF is being driven primarily by a rapidly expanding market for chlorine-free fluorocarbon products," Weidman added. "With the CFC production phaseout deadline behind us in North America, the fluorocarbon markets are converting to environmentally-safer HCFCs (hydrochlorofluorocarbons) and HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons). Because greater amounts of HF are required to produce these newer compounds, we anticipate the current strong demand for HF to remain stable well into the future."

Weidman added that the Fluorine Products Division of AlliedSignal is a world-leading producer of environmentally-safer fluorocarbon products sold under the Genetron(R), Genesolv(R), and Oxyfume(R) trade names. The division has fluorocarbon production facilities in Baton Rouge and Geismar, La.; El Segundo, Calif.; and Weert, The Netherlands. HF is currently produced at the business' Geismar facility, which underwent a production capacity increase in 1995 to 123,000-tons-per-year.

Amherstburg's official start-up is scheduled for November this year, with full-scale operation slated for April 1997. The plant will have a total annual production capacity of 52,000 tons. When fully operational, it will employ a combined total of approximately 60 to 70 salaried and hourly personnel. The site has been maintained by a skeleton crew since being idled in 1992.

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.

Tom Crane

201/455-6073