Arch Chemicals' Rochester, N.Y., Biocides Facility Achieves ISO 9002 Standard of Manufacturing Excellence.

Business Editors

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 27, 2002

Arch Chemicals' facility in Rochester, New York, which manufactures active ingredients for use in antidandruff shampoos, skin and hair care products, and industrial applications, has been approved for an ISO 9002 registration, which is an international standard of excellence in production quality.

To qualify for this registration from the International Organization for Standardization, the Arch Rochester facility had to undergo intensive audits of 19 required elements relating to production quality control systems and procedures. These elements range from raw material purchasing controls to manufacturing process controls to product identification and traceability systems, according to Dr. Rahim Hani, who serves as Quality Control/Quality Assurance Manager for Arch's Treatment Products' plant in Rochester. The audits were conducted by an independent company that performs quality audits for ISO registrations.

The audit also encompassed the Rochester plant's production-related document control and management system. This system enables the plant's employees to store, update and refine 2,200 manufacturing quality control procedures and work instructions, a critical way of ensuring that the plant can consistently meet customers' needs for product purity, effectiveness and quality.

"This ISO 9002 registration is a testament to years of hard work in creating world-class production quality control systems, standards and procedures at our Rochester plant," said Paul J. Craney, Vice President and General Manager, Arch Treatment Products. "Since our plant serves customers throughout the world who are leaders in their industries, we are all the more pleased to have achieved this international standard of production quality excellence."

Arch's Treatment Products business is the world's largest supplier of active agents for antidandruff shampoos, and it also supplies biocides and other active ingredients for other personal care products as well as marine antifouling paints, architectural paints and coatings and industrial metalworking fluids. For insights into this global biocides business, visit its Web site at www.archbiocides.com.

Arch Personal Care Products, a related business unit within Treatment Products, supplies proteins, botanicals, lanolin, emulsifiers and other specially formulated chemicals for use in numerous skin and hair care products. It is located in South Plainfield, New Jersey, and its Web site is www.archpersonalcare.com.

Headquartered in Norwalk, CT, Arch Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: ARJ) is a global specialty chemicals company with 3,000 employees, annual sales of approximately $1 billion, and leadership positions in five key segments: Microelectronic Materials, HTH(R) Water Products, Treatment Products, Performance Products and Other Specialty Products. The Company supplies world leaders in these markets with forward-looking solutions that meet their chemical needs. The Company's main Web site is www.archchemicals.com.