Albemarle Introduces Electronic Materials Business Unit

BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB) has officially announced the formation of its Electronic Materials business unit.  This new business unit, which is a subgroup of Albemarle's newly renamed Performance Catalyst Solutions (PCS) division, provides electronic-grade metal organics to the rapidly expanding Light Emitting Diode (LED), compound semiconductor, and solar panel markets.

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"As a producer of metal organics for over half a century, Albemarle has built a solid reputation on chemical expertise and experience," said Amy Motto, vice president of Albemarle's PCS division.  "With the launch of our Electronic Materials business unit, Albemarle will bring the same high level of quality and competence to the LED and solar markets. "

Albemarle's Electronic Materials business has already begun selling commercial quantities of ultra high purity trimethyl gallium (TMG) and triethylgallium (TEG) under its new PureGrowth™ brand name.  The portfolio will be expanded to include ultra high purity trimethylaluminum (TMA) by early 2012 and trimethyl indium (TMI) by mid 2012.  These products are used in metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), a process used to manufacture chips for LED backlighting in displays and light bulbs.

The Electronic Materials business is built upon Albemarle's strong foundation of existing competencies in the electronics industry.  In addition to the PureGrowth portfolio, Albemarle is currently selling diethyl zinc (DEZ) to the solar panel industry and will expand its offerings to include dimethyl zinc (DMZ) in the near future.  

"By expanding into the electronic-grade metal organic arena, Albemarle will be able to provide a robust portfolio of complementary products and services used throughout the electronics industry," said Jenny Hebert, global product manager for Electronic Materials. "Albemarle will also benefit from a number of R&D and distribution synergies shared by its various business units."

About Performance Catalyst Solutions

In November 2011, Albemarle's Polyolefin and Chemical Catalyst division, a segment of its Catalyst global business unit, was officially renamed Performance Catalyst Solutions to reinforce the division's transition from supplying components, such as organometallics, to delivering high performance catalyst solutions through a finished catalyst product portfolio.  The division is comprised of three business units: Polymer Catalysts, Chemical Catalyst, and Electronic Materials.  Collectively, these businesses provide performance-based products and services that are used in the plastics, agricultural, and electronics industries.

About Albemarle
Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is a leading global developer, manufacturer, and marketer of highly-engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics, petroleum refining, utilities, packaging, construction, automotive/transportation, pharmaceuticals, crop protection, food-safety and custom chemistry services. The Company is committed to global sustainability and is advancing its eco-practices and solutions in its three business segments, Polymer Solutions, Catalysts and Fine Chemistry. Corporate Responsibility Magazine selected Albemarle to its prestigious "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list for 2010 and 2011.  Albemarle employs approximately 4,000 people and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Albemarle regularly posts information to www.albemarle.com, including notification of events, news, financial performance, investor presentations and webcasts, Regulation G reconciliations, SEC filings, and other information regarding the Company, its businesses and the markets we serve.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Albemarle Corporation's business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K.

SOURCE Albemarle Corporation