Grace to Provide UNIPOL® PP Process Technology and Services at New Braskem La Porte, TX Facility

COLUMBIA, Md., Oct. 31, 2016 -- W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA), the leading supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) process technology, has announced that it will provide its UNIPOL^® PP process technology and services to Braskem America’s newest planned facility in La Porte, TX, which could begin operations in early 2019.

Braskem is the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and the leading producer of PP in the United States, with five existing U.S. production plants located in Texas, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, as well as an Innovation and Technology Center in Pittsburgh.

Grace’s UNIPOL^® PP process technology is an all gas-phase technology that is the most economical in investment and has the broadest product capabilities with stable and predictable operation. It is designed with fewer moving parts and less equipment than any competing technology. UNIPOL^® PP Technology is the simplest process of all PP technologies, with a process design that leads to lower capital costs and lower operating costs while maximizing reliability and lowering maintenance costs. Although mechanically simple, the underlying technology enables the production of the broadest, most advanced homopolymers, random copolymers, and impact copolymers in the industry.

Braskem’s La Porte facility is designed to produce 450 kilotons per year of homopolymer, random copolymers, and impact copolymers in a single reactor line, for which the UNIPOL^® PP process technology enables the production of the broadest, most advanced product slate. This is the fifth UNIPOL^® PP reactor line for Braskem, joining existing facilities at Marcus Hook, PA (two reactor lines); Seadrift, TX; and Wesseling, Germany.

Mark Nikolich, CEO of Braskem America, said, “The focus for our new PP plant is to meet the growing PP market demand with the most economical investment and with broad product capability. We are glad to work with Grace to meet our business objectives using the UNIPOL^® PP technology.”

Al Beninati, President of Grace’s Specialty Catalysts business segment, said, “Grace is thrilled to be the technology of choice for Braskem’s new PP plant in La Porte. Given the objectives for this new facility, we are confident that the UNIPOL^® PP process technology will provide the most cost effective solution for Braskem’s production needs.”

For more information about Grace polyolefin catalysts and process technology, visit http://grace.com/catalysts-and-fuels/en-us/polyolefin-catalysts.

About Grace’s UNIPOL^® PP Technology

Grace is the leading supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and has the broadest portfolio of polyolefin catalyst technologies of any independent polyethylene/polypropylene catalyst producer.  Grace’s industry-leading UNIPOL^® PP licensing and related catalysts include the UNIPOL UNIPPAC^® Process Control software, SHAC^® Catalysts Systems, and 6^th Generation non-phthalate CONSISTA^® Catalysts Systems.

About Grace

Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and engineered materials. The company’s two industry-leading business segments—Catalysts Technologies and Materials Technologies—provide innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes of our customer partners around the world. Grace employs approximately 3,700 people in over 30 countries. More information about Grace is available at grace.com.

UNIPOL^® and UNIPOL UNIPPAC^® are trademarks of The Dow Chemical Company or an affiliated company of Dow.  W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. and/or its affiliates are licensed to use the UNIPOL^® and UNIPOL UNIPPAC^® trademarks in the area of polypropylene.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, that is, information related to future, not past, events. Such statements generally include the words “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “targets,” “will,” “expects,” “suggests,” “anticipates,” “outlook,” “continues,” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, expected financial positions; results of operations; cash flows; financing plans; business strategy; operating plans; capital and other expenditures; competitive positions; growth opportunities for existing products; benefits from new technology and cost reduction initiatives, plans and objectives; and markets for securities. For these statements, Grace claims the protection of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Like other businesses, Grace is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from its projections or that could cause other forward-looking statements to prove incorrect. Factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: risks related to foreign operations, especially in emerging regions; the cost and availability of raw materials and energy; the effectiveness of its research and development and growth investments; acquisitions and divestitures of assets and gains and losses from dispositions; developments affecting Grace’s outstanding indebtedness; developments affecting Grace's funded and unfunded pension obligations; its legal and environmental proceedings; uncertainties related to the company’s ability to realize the anticipated benefits of the separation transaction; the inability to establish or maintain certain business relationships and relationships with customers and suppliers or the inability to retain key personnel during the period following the separation transaction; costs of compliance with environmental regulation; and those additional factors set forth in Grace's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly report on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are readily available on the Internet at www.sec.gov.  Reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on Grace's projections and forward-looking statements, which speak only as the date thereof. Grace undertakes no obligation to publicly release any revision to the projections and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this announcement.

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