ACRYLITE® Polymers news

Evonik Cyro and CML Innovative Technologies Named Finalists In the SPE Innovation Awards

Parsippany, NJ, November 20, 2008

ACRYLITE® df Compound, Used in Ford Flex Ambient Lighting System, Nominated in ‘Materials’ Category

Evonik Cyro LLC, an Evonik Degussa Corporation group company, announces that Evonik Cyro and CML Innovative Technologies have been named finalists, with Ford Motor Company, in the Materials Category of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) Automotive Innovation Awards, which will be presented on November 20. CML Innovative Technologies, a Tier I automotive supplier, is using Evonik Cyro’s ACRYLITE^® df light diffusing acrylic polymer as part of the Interior Ambient Lighting System designed into the Ford Motor Co. Flex cross-over utility vehicle (CUV).

SPE’s Automotive Innovation Awards program is the oldest and largest competition of its kind in the automotive and plastics industries. Dozens of teams made up of OEMs, tier suppliers, and polymer producers submit nominations describing their part, system, or complete vehicle module and why it merits the claim as “Year’s Most Innovative Use of Plastics.”

The Ford Flex Ambient Lighting system generates seven colors – changeable by the customer – through a single tricolor RGB LED. During the design process, multiple light diffusion materials were evaluated, including a diffusing lens, a long-length light guide, and a pigmented light guide. When the team tested the system featuring Evonik Cyro’s ACRYLITE df polymer, they found an innovative solution that would achieve the desired result.

ACRYLITE df polymer combines lighting diffusion efficiency, compound weatherability, light stability and high deflection temperature under load. Applied to the Ford Flex Ambient Lighting system, ACRYLITE df polymer achieves a uniform color mixing with minimal transmission loss—20%–40% better than pigmented solutions. The total package size is 50% smaller than secondary diffusing lens solutions and 1/3 the size of long-length light guides. The overall cost is reduced by avoiding the additional tooling expenses for secondary lenses and higher material costs for long light guides or lenses.

For more information on ACRYLITE df acrylic polymers, contact: Evonik Cyro LLC, 379 Interpace Parkway, Parsippany, NJ 07054, USA; Tel: 800-631-5384; Fax: 973-541-8448; or visit www.cyro.com.

Evonik Cyro LLC

Evonik Cyro LLC is an Evonik Degussa Corporation group company. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, Evonik Cyro is a leading manufacturer of acrylic molding compounds, and bulk and performance monomers. Evonik Cyro manufactures and markets its acrylic products under the ACRYLITE^® trade name in the Americas. These same products are manufactured and marketed under the PLEXIGLAS^® trade name throughout Europe and Asia.

Evonik Industries

Evonik Industries is the creative industrial group from Germany which operates in three business areas: Chemicals, Energy and Real Estate. Evonik is a global leader in specialty chemicals, an expert in power generation from hard coal and renewable energies, and one of the largest private residential real estate companies in Germany. Our strengths are creativity, specialization, continuous self-renewal, and reliability. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In its fiscal year 2007 about 43,000 employees generated sales of about €14.4 billion and an operating profit (EBIT) of more than €1.3 billion (preliminary figures).

Disclaimer

In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.