Albemarle to Expand Hydroprocessing Catalyst Production Capacity

RICHMOND, Va., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB), a leading manufacturer of catalysts, will expand hydroprocessing catalyst (HPC) production capacity at three sites worldwide to address growing demand for its leading-technology products.

"Refiners around the world are faced with the challenge of meeting ever- tightening clean fuels specifications," said Huub Cuijpers, Albemarle HPC global business director. "Demand for our leading technology HPC products, like those from our STARS(R) and NEBULA(TM) families, is outpacing our current capacities, thus driving the need to increase capacities at our Pasadena, Texas (USA) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands) plants as well as the plant of our joint venture, Nippon Ketjen, in Niihama (Japan)."

"Of the three expansions, the capacity increase at our Texas plant will be the most substantial in order to meet rapidly building demand in the Americas for our products," Cuijpers said. Albemarle will build a new 10,000 metric tons-per-year capacity plant at this site, with initial production projected to begin by the end of 2006.

The company also will add a specialized production line at its Amsterdam site; implement debottlenecking activities at existing plants in Pasadena, Amsterdam and Niihama; and make further investments in its laboratories, most notably in the area of combinatorial chemistry.

"These investments demonstrate Albemarle's continuing commitment to be the global leader in catalysts," Cuijpers said.

Hydroprocessing catalysts are used in virtually all petroleum refineries around the world and are essential for the production of clean fuels.

Albemarle Corporation, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, is a leading global developer, manufacturer and marketer of highly engineered specialty chemicals for consumer electronics; petroleum and petrochemical processing; transportation and industrial products; pharmaceuticals; agricultural products; construction and packaging materials. The Company operates in three business segments, Polymer Additives, Catalysts and Fine Chemicals, and serves customers in approximately 100 countries. Learn more about Albemarle at http://www.albemarle.com .

"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 materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "the filings" the Company makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those discussed under "Risk Factors" in its Registration Statement on Form 3.

SOURCE: Albemarle Corporation

CONTACT: Carson Greer, Corporate Communications of Albemarle Corporation, +1-804-502-9613, or carson_greer@albemarle.com