Solutia, Sinorgchem, and KKPC Reach Global Settlement in Antidegradant Patent Dispute

ST. LOUIS, June 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Solutia Inc. ("Solutia") (NYSE: SOA), Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology Co., Ltd. ("Sinorgchem"), and Korea Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd. ("KKPC") announced today that they have reached a global settlement to resolve all disputes among them involving Solutia's patents for processes to produce 4-ADPA, a chemical intermediate used to make rubber antidegradants.

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Under the terms of the settlement, Solutia grants Sinorgchem and KKPC licenses to manufacture 4-ADPA under Solutia's patents, which do not expire until 2019. As licensees, Sinorgchem and KKPC are also granted certain rights to enforce those patents. Financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

"The settlement of these long-standing disputes is a milestone for Solutia and its Santoflex® antidegradant business," said Mr. Rich Altice, president and general manager of Solutia's Technical Specialties division.  "We remain committed to using our innovative chemistry to provide value to our customers and shareholders, as well as to protecting our intellectual property rights."

Mr. Stephen Choi, chief executive officer of Sinorgchem, commented, "We are happy this issue is resolved and the dispute is behind us.  As a leading rubber additives producer, we will continue to use technology to provide our customers with greener chemicals."

Mr. Sung-Kyu Lim, senior executive vice president of KKPC's Sales Division, added, "We are pleased these proceedings are over and express our appreciation to all of our customers for their patience and support during the proceedings. With a focus on our core values of passion, innovation, collaboration and responsibility, we will continue to take the initiative in providing world-class products and services to our customers."

Notes to Editor:  SOLUTIA and the Radiance Logo™ and all other trademarks listed below are trademarks of Solutia Inc. and/or its affiliates. 

Corporate Profile
Solutia is a market-leading performance materials and specialty chemicals company. The company focuses on providing solutions for a better life through a range of products, including: Saflex® polyvinyl butyral interlayers for glass lamination and for photovoltaic module encapsulation and VISTASOLAR® ethylene vinyl acetate films for photovoltaic module encapsulation;  LLumar®, Vista™, EnerLogic®, FormulaOne®, Gila®, V-KOOL®, Huper Optik®, IQue™, Sun-X™ and Nanolux™ aftermarket performance films for automotive and architectural applications; XIR® and Heat Mirror® performance films that are incorporated into aftermarket window films, laminated glass products and suspended insulated glass units for use in automotive and architectural applications. Flexvue™ advanced film component solutions for solar and electronic technologies; and technical specialties products including Crystex® insoluble sulfur, Santoflex® PPD antidegradants, Therminol® heat transfer fluids and Skydrol® aviation hydraulic fluids. Solutia's businesses are world leaders in each of their market segments. With its headquarters in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, the company operates globally with approximately 3,400 employees in more than 50 worldwide locations. More information is available at www.Solutia.com .

Jiangsu Sinorgchem Technology Co., Ltd. was established in June 2008 and is a global leader in the manufacture of rubber additives, as well as a global leader in research and development of rubber antioxidants, including 6PPD, IPPD and 4-ADPA.  Important to Sinorgchem's research and development is a focus on developing green rubber additives.  Sinorgchem's growth can be attributed to its culture of customer orientation, innovation, teamwork and professional dedication.  Sinorgchem is headquartered in Shanghai, China, and has production and research and development facilities across China, and subsidiaries in Europe and the U.S.  More information is available at www.sinorgchem.com .

Kumho Petrochemical Co., Ltd (KKPC), a Korea-based petrochemical company established in 1970, has a global market leadership position in the manufacture of synthetic rubbers with the world's largest production capacity based on SBR and BR.  KKPC has strengthened its synthetic rubbers market leadership to provide general synthetic rubbers to the world's major tire makers and other customers as a global top SBR and BR producer.  KKPC also has developed and delivered eco-friendly and high performance synthetic rubbers such as Nd-BR and S-SBR.  KKPC has the world's second largest production capacity of specialty chemicals based on 6PPD antioxidant products for industrial rubbers as well.  Synthetic resins are one of the biggest businesses of KKPC based on sales revenue as it delivers general and high performance plastic materials such as PS, ABS, EPS, SAN, PPG, etc.  In 2008, KKPC launched Hugreen, a premium, eco-friendly and comprehensive building material product. Electronic chemicals, combined heat and power plants, carbon-nano materials are other growing businesses of KKPC.  KKPC's headquarters are located in Seoul, Republic of Korea, with approximately 1,500 employees globally.  More information is available at www.kkpc.com . 

SOURCE Solutia Inc.