Fitch Ratings Affirms UOP's CP Rating At 'F2'.

Business Editors

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 2002

Fitch Ratings has affirmed UOP LLC's (UOP) commercial paper rating at 'F2'. The Rating Outlook is Stable.

The rating is supported by UOP's credit statistics, strong parents (Honeywell International Inc. (Honeywell) and The Dow Chemical Company (Dow) and commitment to technological innovation. UOP has been experiencing a difficult earnings period as a result of weak global economic conditions. However, the company has focused on debt reduction and has been able to control costs. Lower short-term interest rates have also reduced interest costs. As a result, EBITDA/interest incurred was 6.1 times (x) and total debt/EBITDA was 2.7x at June 30, 2002. This shows an improvement over year-end 2001's EBITDA/interest of 4.8x and total debt/EBITDA of 3.0x. In addition to improving credit statistics, Dow and Honeywell have been supportive of UOP during the downturn. The parent companies did not receive dividends in 2001 and have not received dividends so far in 2002. At the center of UOP's earnings and reputation is its focus on technological innovation. In its end markets, the company is known worldwide for its process technology.

An expected improvement in earnings, consistent with an improvement in global economic conditions, and further modest debt reduction support the Stable Rating Outlook. UOP's earnings are expected to strengthen in the near term, assuming capital spending improves in UOP's end-markets and the company's reorganization efforts are successful.

UOP provides technology, products, engineered systems and services to petroleum refining, petrochemical, gas processing and chemical industries worldwide. UOP is also a major global producer and supplier of molecular sieves for various industries. UOP is a limited liability corporation with subsidiaries of Honeywell and Dow as equal members of the LLC.