Florence, Ky.-based Ticona — the engineering polymers business of Celanese Corp., Dallas — will
expand its production complex in Nanjing, China, with the addition of a 15,000-metric-ton
compounding unit that will produce compounds for such Ticona engineering polymers as Fortron®,
Vandar®, Riteflex®, Celanex®, Hostaform® and Vectra®. The expansion is expected to be complete in
the first quarter of 2009.


The Nanjing complex is also home to a 600,000 metric ton acetic acid facility, a
300,000-metric-ton vinyl acetate monomer plant, a 100,000 metric ton acetic anhydride unit, and
specialty acetyl derivatives units. In addition, a new Celstran® long fiber-reinforced
thermoplastic facility is set to begin production at the complex early this year, while a
20,000-metric-ton GUR® ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene plant will begin production in the
last half of 2008.

“Our Nanjing compounding unit will support our recently announced [Customer] Application
Development Center in Shanghai,” said Lindsey Deal, director, Asia business development, Ticona. “
This will enable us to translate applications from other regions of the world, enhancing our
ability to develop and expand regional applications based on advanced engineering polymers in the
Ticona portfolio.”

Set to open sometime this year, the Customer Application Development Center will offer Ticona
customers support for product and mold design using computer-aided engineering, process
optimization based on injection molding trials, material testing, troubleshooting and customer
training.

January 15, 2008

Fairlawn, Ohio-based Omnova Solutions Inc. has completed its acquisition of three joint venture
decorative products manufacturing businesses in Asia from Thailand-based CPPC Public Co. Ltd., its
former partner in the joint ventures.


Omnova Decorative Products Thailand (formerly CPPC-Decorative Products Co. Ltd.), is a
producer of coated vinyl upholstery, commercial wallcoverings, laminates and films for the Asian
and North American furniture, interiors, marine and transportation markets, as well as films for
industrial applications.  Omnova Decorative Products (Shanghai), formerly CG-Omnova Decorative
Products (Shanghai) Co. Ltd.; and Omnova Decorative Products (Taicang), formerly known as Beston
Omnova Plastics (Taicang) Co. Ltd., are both China-based producers of coated polyurethane and vinyl
upholstery for regional upholstery, consumer garment and accessories markets, and Chinese
automotive original equipment manufacturers.  These companies also have expanded their focus
on North American contract and residential furniture markets and the automotive aftermarket.

“Omnova’s investment to acquire full ownership of our Asian [joint venture] businesses is a
key part of our globalization strategy and demonstrates our long-term commitment to the large and
rapidly growing Asian markets,” said Kevin McMullen, chairman and CEO, Omnova Solutions. “It allows
us to more aggressively participate in the tremendous expansion underway in the region with
innovative technology and products. In addition, it puts us in a better position to follow global
customers who have moved manufacturing to Asia and are looking for high quality local sourcing.”

January 15, 2008

Atlanta-based Process Control Corp., a manufacturer of auxiliary equipment and systems for plastic
processing, has opened Guangzhou Atlanta Process Control Equipment Co. Ltd., its first facility in
China.


Located in Guangzhou, the 655-square-meters facility will operate as a wholly owned
subsidiary of Process Control Corp., offering manufacturing capabilities and customer support
including sales, project engineering, and customer and technical service. It will also manage and
support distributors in South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand.

“Our new Guangzhou facility is a strategic move towards globalization necessitated by our
growing customer base in Asia,” said Steve Buckley, vice president, sales and marketing, Process
Control Corp. “By building an integrated operation in Guangzhou, we are well positioned to develop
efficient, long-term relationships with our customers and offer improved supply chain management.”

January 15, 2008

Austria-based viscose fiber producer Lenzing AG plans to invest 151 million euros (US$221.8
million) to expand capacity at its two largest production facilities, located in Austria and
Indonesia.

The company will invest $45 million euros (US$66.1 million) to add 15,000 tons of capacity at
its largest manufacturing facility in Lenzing, Austria, bringing the total capacity at that
location to 250,000 tons. At its Purwakarta, Indonesia-based PT South Pacific Viscose facility,
Lenzing will invest 106 million euros (US$155.7 million) to add a fourth production line to
increase capacity from 155,000 tons to 220,000 tons, as well as to improve infrastructure and
optimize production.

“The demand for Lenzing fibers, particularly in Asia, has recently been very positive,” said
Thomas Fahnemann, chairman of Lenzing’s Management Board. “In the medium term, we view the
continuing economic growth of the region, the rise in prosperity and its growing population as
indicators of very good market opportunities.”

Fahnemann said Asia is the company’s primary growth market, noting potential for additional
capacity expansion in that region, especially in China, where it opened a production facility last
year. Lenzing also plans to build a fiber-production plant in India.

Lenzing produces 560,000 tons of viscose fiber annually at six fiber production facilities
worldwide. With the announced expansions, along with a previously announced expansion at its
Tencel® facility in Heiligenkreuz, Austria, the company’s annual production capacity will total
660,000 tons.

January 8, 2008

Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont will invest $500 million in its Cooper River, S.C., plant to build a
facility for the production of DuPont™ Kevlar® para-aramid fiber for industrial and military
applications. Construction, scheduled to begin this month, will require more than 400 contract
workers, while the new operation, expected to commence in 2010, will create 100 permanent jobs.

The Cooper River plant currently employs 60 workers in the production of DuPont Hytrel®
thermoplastic polyester elastomer used primarily in automotive applications.

The new project is part of a previously announced expansion that will increase Kevlar
production capacity by more than 25 percent globally. The expansion also includes a $50 million
investment to increase Kevlar polymer production at DuPont’s Spruance plant in Richmond, Va.
According to the company, the expansion represents the largest single investment and the largest
capacity expansion for the para-aramid fiber since its introduction in 1965.

“The new plant at Cooper River, together with our other global assets, will help DuPont meet
strong and growing global demand for Kevlar,” said Thomas G. Powell, vice president and general
manager, DuPont Advanced Fiber Systems. “It also will allow us to put our innovative science to
work to develop new, differentiated Kevlar products using the latest new fiber technologies that
protect people and processes.”

January 8, 2008

The International Textile Group Inc. (ITG), Greensboro, N.C., has named Thomas E. McKenna to
succeed John L. Bakane as president of its Cone Denim division. Bakane retired from the company in
December 2007.

“We are extremely pleased to have someone of Tom’s experience and knowledge to lead our denim
division,” said Joseph L. Gorga, president and CEO, ITG. “Having grown up in denim, Tom understands
the denim market and the global landscape of the industry. We look forward to his leadership and
many contributions as we move ahead.”

McKenna began his career with ITG Cone Denim in 1981 as a sales representative in New York
City for the company’s predecessor, Cone Mills. After holding sales and management positions in the
United States, he opened the company’s first international sales office in Brussels, and in 1995
moved to Singapore to become director of marketing for the Asia/Pacific region. Later returning to
the United States, he assumed several executive positions including executive vice president, denim
merchandising and marketing, for Cone Mills; and was promoted to president, sales and marketing,
for Cone Denim following the formation of ITG in 2004 through the merger of Cone Mills and
Burlington Industries.

January 8, 2008

Every year in January, the world’s home textile industry gathers in Germany for an event at the
Messe Frankfurt GmbH exhibition center. This year’s Heimtextil, the International Trade Fair for
Home and Contract Textiles, will open its gates Jan. 9-12, 2008. Most of the global producers,
wholesalers and retailers, as well as interior architects, designers and decorators will be in
Frankfurt am Main for the fair.

Impressive Figures

Last year, 2,863 exhibitors from 68 countries participated in Heimtextil, the biggest event
for the home textiles trade around the globe. Fifty-nine percent of visitors came from Europe, and
some 37 percent came from Asia. The visitor side is also characterized by a high degree of
internationality, combined with a high level of buying authority. The almost 86,000 visitors came
from 127 countries. Sixty-nine percent of visitors hold executive or managerial positions in the
trade, sales, export, industry and purchasing fields; and are authorized to make purchasing
decisions on behalf of their companies.

Optimized Structure

Heimtextil 2008 is said to be distinguished by an improved structure for the range of premium
home and household textiles, as well as by several special shows and events that will reveal the
latest trends and give young designers the chance to present their ideas. So that visitors can
better find their way around the broad spectrum of products to be seen, the hall structure of
Heimtextil 2008 has been optimized and adapted to visitor needs. Additionally, simplified names for
the product groups — such as sleep and dream, which is now known as bed; and fresh and splash,
which is now known as bath — will make orientation even easier.

“The show will be embedding the subjects and innovations of the home textiles sector in a
concept full of highlights,” said Olaf Schmidt, vice president, Textile Fairs, Messe Frankfurt.
“The concept has generated a positive echo on the exhibitor side. Just before the start of the
exhibition, one can say said that the number of exhibitors will be comparable to last year’s
total.”

Revised Product Presentation

A cornerstone of the forthcoming Heimtextil will be — analogously to the premium segment for
household textiles — the revised product presentation for home textiles based on the “More”
concept. The aim of this concept is to create greater transparency at the fair and offer easier
access to the range of products. This year, visitors will find manufacturers of premium textile
furnishings under the heading “More.” For the first time, Heimtextil 2008 will also provide an
exclusive forum for producers and suppliers of high-grade home textiles.

“More Clarity” and “More Style” put the focus on household textiles from the bed, bath and
table segments. In Hall 9.1, in which “More Clarity” is to be located, European textile
manufacturers of classic designs, some of which work with small, exclusive batches, will present
their top products. “More Style”, which is to be located in Hall 9.2, will bring together
international brands with fashion- and trend-oriented designs.

Merging The Indoor And Outdoor Areas

The “Outside In” special show in Hall 3.1 will showcase extravagant home textiles as part of
a modern urban villa and garden at Heimtextil. In this area, the show takes up the current
architectural trend towards merging the indoor and outdoor areas of the home. Three cubes will
house the sleeping, living and dining sections of the home. A fourth cube will contain a bar and
catering facilities. Visitors will be able to stroll on a small boulevard through the area. Small,
wooden gangplanks will lead to the themed cubes. Tables with benches will be embedded in the lawns
to provide an opportunity to sit and rest for a while.

Have a splendid 2008. See you in Frankfurt am Main.



January 8, 2008

Greenville-based wool spinner Kentwool has become the first company in the Western Hemisphere to
receive Usterized quality certification from Uster Technologies AG, a Switzerland-based
manufacturer of online and laboratory textile-quality-monitoring systems. Kentwool, a 164-year-old
company that supplies superfine wool yarn to high-end apparel brands such as Italy-based Loro Piana
S.p.A. and Irvine, Calif.-based St. John Knits Inc., is one of approximately 45 companies in 13
countries worldwide to have received the certification.

Uster — which maintains technology centers in Switzerland, the United States and China; and
operates six service centers worldwide, including two in the United States — awarded the
certification following a two-month audit process conducted at Kentwool’s 100,000-square-foot
manufacturing facility in Pickens, S.C. The audit covered manufacturing and operational categories
including Kentwool’s quality management system, which demonstrated consistent, sustainable
capability to test yarn quality.

“Achieving this unique quality certification from the most respected textile quality firm on
the planet, coupled with our ability to produce the finest wool yarn in North America, confirms we
are on track to achieve our vision of becoming the premier wool innovation and manufacturing
company in the world,” said Mark Kent, president and CEO, Kentwool.

January 8, 2008

Sweden-based Eton Systems AB has expanded its North American operations to meet increasing demand
in bedding and other textile market segments.

As part of the expansion, Eton has entered into a marketing partnership with West Babylon,
N.Y.-based Galkin Automated Products, a manufacturer and marketer of automated workstations and
production equipment for mattress and other sewn-products markets. Galkin will market Eton’s line
of computerized conveyor and shop floor data collection solutions to North American mattress
manufacturers.

Eton’s expansion efforts also include a reshuffling of internal sales and marketing
positions. Gary Freedman, Latin American sales manager, will also now focus on strategic business
development activities in North America. Per Bringle, appointed North American area manager in
2007, has worked to focus Eton’s development efforts on high-potential, fast-growing market
segments.

National Allergy Supply Inc., a producer of healthy bedding mattress and pillow
encasements, recently ordered additional Eton workstations.

In other company news, Eton recently sold a second line of 15 Unit Production System
workstations — used in the sewn-products industries to automate material flow and minimize material
handling during the manufacturing process — to be installed at National Allergy Supply Inc.’s
Cornelia, Ga., facility. National Allergy, a Duluth, Ga.-based manufacturer and marketer of healthy
bedding mattress and pillow encasements, installed its first line of Eton workstations at the
Cornelia plant in August 2007.

“Our first Eton installation worked so well that we knew immediately that we wanted more,”
said Lee Hardy, general manager and vice president of manufacturing, National Allergy Supply. “In
just a few months, we have far exceeded our original expectations by achieving an 80-percent
increase in productivity with Eton. The second line will enable us to incorporate all current
production on Eton, as well as provide for expected growth in sales.”



January 8, 2008

Albany International Corp., an Albany, N.Y.–based manufacturer of custom-designed paper machine
fabrics and process belts used in the production of paper and paperboard, will close its forming
fabric manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Ala., as a result of a shrinking customer base in
North America and the need to balance paper machine clothing production capacity with expected
demand.

The closure, which will affect 90 employees, will commence over the next few weeks.
Manufacturing capacity will be transferred from the Montgomery facility to other Albany
International sites in North America. The company expects to complete the transition by the end of
August 2008.

Shuttering of the Montgomery facility follows the closure of dryer fabric manufacturing and
press fabric manufacturing operations in New York, announced last August. Transition of those
operations to other facilities in North America is expected to be complete by the end of this
month.

January 8, 2008