LeaRonal Inc. Penetrates Multimillion Dollar Steel Mill Market.

FREEPORT, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 1, 1998--LeaRonal, Inc. (NYSE:LRI) announces the installation of its newly introduced Ronastan TP-HCD (High Current Density) tinplating process at BHP Integrated Steel's (Division of Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited) new tin plating operation at BHP Packaging Products in New South Wales, Australia.

Scheduled to commence operations during October 1998, BHP's new tinning line will produce up to 166,000 tons of tin plated steel annually, as well as 60,000 tons of electro chromium coated steel strip. The operation is part of BHP's Tin Mill 2000 Project, which is a $300M refurbishment of the Packaging Products plant, and includes a new Temper Mill, ET/TFS Line, Coil Preparation and Wrapping Line, as well as extensive upgrades to the Pickle Line, Cold Mill, CAL, Batch Annealers and No. 2 ET Line.

The Tin Mill 2000 Project is targeted at improving product quality and consistency, and provides BHP with a world class product range. BHP Packaging Products is the predominant supplier to the Australian Packaging market and is also a significant exporter. The installation of the Ronastan TP-HCD process is part of BHP's commitment to a long term presence as a world class supplier of tinplate.

The patented LeaRonal chemistry builds upon the success of its predecessor, Ronastan TP, and will allow tinplate producers utilizing both modern and dated equipment to operate more flexibly and productively. The HCD process, like its forerunner, eliminates the environmental liabilities linked to the cyanide and phenol by-products associated with traditional tin plating chemistries. LeaRonal's Ronastan TP processes are the only specialty chemical processes producing tinplate around the world.

With the addition of BHP to its customer base, LeaRonal has penetrated 4 continents with its Ronastan TP processes and will be supplying plating chemicals for over 1 million tons of tinplate annually. LeaRonal estimates the worldwide market for tinplate chemicals at over $100 million. The success of the Ronastan TP-HCD process represents a significant broadening of LeaRonal Singapore product lines developed specifically for heavy industry.

George Federman, LeaRonal's Director of Steel Mill Operations, commented: "The new Ronastan TP-HCD chemistry is the latest example of LeaRonal innovation. Our chemistry is not only environmentally benign, it is the most flexible electrolyte currently available on the market. With its introduction at several state of the art steel mills around the globe, demand for our products is accelerating. We look forward to capitalizing on the growth of tinplate in developing markets such as Asia and Eastern Europe and anticipate being able to announce further penetration of the worldwide tinplate market during the next 6 months."

LeaRonal, Inc. develops and markets a wide variety of specialty chemicals utilized in the electronics and metal finishing industries.

For More Information About LeaRonal, Please Visit Our Website At http://www.learonal.com

    CONTACT: LeaRonal, Inc.
              George Federman, Director of Steel Mill Operations
              516/868-8800