Arch Chemicals, Inc. Establishes Coatings Operations in China.

Business Editors

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 10, 2001

To support a strong and quickly growing coatings business in China, Arch Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: ARJ) has established sales support and technical service operations in Suzhou, China.

Complemented by the company's existing Singapore sales office, the new Suzhou service operation extends Arch's Asian coatings business.

The Arch operation in Suzhou, 50 miles from Shanghai, will provide sales support and technical support, as well as local distribution for the company's wide range of industrial and "do-it-yourself," retail products for a variety of wood applications. Arch's coatings center will consist of an on-site technical center and color lab, as well as some offsite warehouse facilities. Suzhou is in the center of the Jiangsu Province manufacturing zones. The coatings operations center is ideally located to service Arch's customers throughout this area and the other furniture manufacturing areas in North China, Guangdong Province and Fujian Province, as well as the newly developed western or inner provinces.

"This new base of operations builds on our already strong presence in Singapore for support of our Asian business," said Steve Kirk, General Manager for Coatings in Asia. "Through this technical support and the ability to supply our coatings through our warehouses, which will be located conveniently in the furniture manufacturing areas, we will be able to establish our name in the market."

According to Charles W. Shaver, Vice President and General Manager, Performance Products, the Suzhou facility provides Arch with a strong base from which to extend its worldwide coatings business. "Establishing the Suzhou operation and combining it with our long experience with our Italian factory and Singapore operations will allow Arch Coatings to become an industry leader and trendsetter in the Asia Pacific area," he said.

China has become the single largest exporter of furniture to the United States with annual exports of between $2 billion and $3 billion, according to recent trade figures from various U.S. government sources. China is also the largest exporter to Japan, and second to Europe behind the Eastern European countries.

Arch Chemicals' wood coatings products, sold under the name Arch Coatings, include the brand names Sayerlack(R), Linea Blu(R) and Tecnoselect(R). A market leader in the strategic Italian market as well as France and the United Kingdom, the company also has operations in the United States and Spain and exports to Asia. Arch's coatings business is part of the company's Performance Products segment, which includes flexible polyols, specialty polyols, urethane systems, glycols and glycol ethers.

With sales of approximately $1 billion, Arch Chemicals, Inc., (NYSE: ARJ) headquartered in Norwalk, Conn., is a global specialty chemicals company with leadership positions in four core segments - Microelectronic Materials, HTH Water Products, Treatment Products and Performance Products. Arch Chemicals serves world leaders in these key markets with forward-looking solutions to meet their chemical needs, employing a global workforce and manufacturing facilities in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

You can get more information about Arch Coatings by visiting http://www.archcoatings.it. For more information about Arch Chemicals, Inc., visit our web site at www.archchemicals.com.