Yulex Appoints New Board Member

    CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Yulex, a biobased materials
 science company focused on providing a domestic source of natural rubber latex
 for hypoallergenic medical devices and specialty consumer products, today
 announced John A. Wichtrich, former President of Bayer CropScience's North
 American BioScience business, has joined the Yulex board of directors.
     "John brings an incredible wealth of wisdom to Yulex after overseeing both
 strategic and operational activities for one of the largest agricultural
 biotechnology companies in the world. He is also an ideal board member to
 assist Yulex in its goal to rapidly expand acreage of a new industrial crop in
 the desert southwest," said Jeff Martin, Yulex's President and CEO. "John is
 going to be a terrific Director and we're honored he has chosen Yulex as his
 first board to serve on since he announced his retirement from Bayer
 CropScience."
     "The founding members of Yulex, Jeff Martin and Chief Operating Officer,
 Daniel Swiger, have done an incredible job positioning Yulex to become the
 leading provider of a domestic source of medical-grade latex to the
 hypoallergenic device market," said John Wichtrich. "I have been particularly
 impressed with the company's ability to understand the market needs and
 respond accordingly. And I am especially looking forward to working with the
 board members as Yulex transitions from its current development stage to full
 commercialization of its technology. "
     Prior to his role as President of the Bayer CropScience's North American
 BioScience business, John was Chief Operating Officer of Aventis CropScience
 and Global Project Leader for the StarLink issue. He was Vice
 President/General Manager of the Sedagri division of Rhone-Poulenc from
 November 1997 up until the merger with Hoechst in 1999 that created Aventis
 CropScience.   He was previously President and Managing Director of Rhone-
 Poulenc Mexico.  Prior to his assignment in Mexico, John was Executive Vice
 President of Rhone-Poulenc's North American Chemicals Zone.
     Before his role as Executive Vice President, John was President of Rhone-
 Poulenc's Specialty Chemicals Division from 1990 until the latter part of
 1994. Before transferring to the Specialty Chemicals Division in 1990, John
 was the International Director of Rhone-Poulenc's Agro Sector based in Lyon,
 France.  He joined Rhone-Poulenc in 1987 as part of an acquisition from Union
 Carbide.  As Vice-President/General Manager at Union Carbide, John had
 responsibility for business activities in Canada, Latin America and Asia.
 John joined Union Carbide in 1966.
     John earned his BS degree in Animal Science and Business Administration
 from the University of Arizona.  He was a Lieutenant Commander in the US Navy
 for four years with two tours in Vietnam.
 
     About Yulex Corporation
     Yulex (www.yulex.com) is a biobased materials science company focused on
 the commercialization of a domestic source of natural rubber latex for the
 hypoallergenic medical device markets.  Yulex, a privately held company, was
 founded in 1997, has commercial farms throughout California and Arizona,
 manufacturing operations in Phoenix, Arizona and is headquartered in Carlsbad,
 California
 
      Press contact:  Jeff Martin, 760.476.0320, jmartin@yulex.com
 
 

SOURCE  Yulex Corporation