Tate & Lyle and DuPont form renewable resources joint venture

Tate & Lyle PLC and DuPont today announced a new U.S. joint venture to make an industrial ingredient from renewable sources, such as corn (maize), which will replace petrochemicals, for use in the manufacture of clothing, plastics and textile fibres. The formation of this joint venture marks the next milestone of the agreement first announced on 1 August 2000. The new company – DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts, LLC – is equally owned by Tate & Lyle and DuPont and will be based in Wilmington, Delaware. The company plans to construct its initial commercial manufacturing facility in Loudon, Tennessee, adjacent to an existing Tate & Lyle facility. Construction is scheduled to be completed by 31 March 2006. The joint venture will use a proprietary fermentation and purification process developed jointly by DuPont and Tate & Lyle to produce 1,3 propanediol (PDO), the key building block for DuPont™ Sorona®. A pilot facility has been operating at Tate & Lyle’s Decatur, Illinois facility for several years. As DuPont’s newest polymer platform, Sorona® offers unique properties such as stain-resistance, exceptional softness, comfort stretch and recovery, and UV- and chlorine-resistance when compared to polyester and nylon. Sorona® can be used in a variety of applications including textile apparel, interiors, engineering resins and packaging. The new bio-based technology uses less energy and employs renewable resources – replacing the need for traditional petrochemicals now used to produce 1,3 propanediol (PDO). “The joint venture is further evidence of Tate & Lyle’s strength in innovation, our success in developing key industrial partnerships and our ability to generate value added product growth. It is a natural fit with our core skills in fermentation of natural products,” said Iain Ferguson, Chief Executive, Tate & Lyle PLC. “Partnerships are an important component of our strategy to build our business and we are delighted that our relationship with DuPont continues to advance. This is also a good example of the excellence of Tate & Lyle’s research and development capability, in delivering a product from renewable resources that can selectively replace those made from petrochemicals.” “As a science company, DuPont is committed to business and research initiatives that meet customer and market needs while delivering both shareholder and societal value,” said John Ranieri, Vice President and General Manager – DuPont Bio-Based Materials. “Sorona® is an excellent example of putting science to work by integrating biology with materials science. Sorona® combines the emerging discipline of metabolic engineering (the capability for biology to produce valuable products) with the leading polymer engineering capabilities of DuPont.” Sorona® is currently manufactured from petroleum-based PDO, and is available commercially from DuPont. It is used to produce clothing and fabrics with superior softness, dyeability, and a natural stretch. Bio-PDO™ corn derived chemical and Sorona® polymer made from Bio-PDO™ will be available in 2006. DuPont Contact: Anthony Farina Tel : 001 302-774-4114 anthony.r.farina@usa.dupont.com Tate & Lyle is a world leader in ingredients. Its core competence is to take corn, wheat or sugar, and add value to these raw materials through technology. As a result of continuous innovation it offers an ever-wider product portfolio of versatile and functional ingredients. These products include Cereal Sweeteners, Starches, Sugars and Citric Acid. Tate & Lyle products have wide applications in the food, beverage, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, paper, packaging and building industries. With headquarters in London, Tate & Lyle operates more than 40 plants in 24 countries, almost all in Europe and the Americas. It employs 6,700 people in its subsidiaries with a further 2,800 employed in joint ventures. Sales in the year to 31 March 2003 totalled £3,167 million. More details are available on this website www.tateandlyle.com. DuPont is a science company. Founded in 1802, DuPont puts science to work by solving problems and creating solutions that make people's lives better, safer and easier. Operating in more than 70 countries, the company offers a wide range of products and services to markets including agriculture, nutrition, electronics, communications, safety and protection, home and construction, transportation and apparel. Last year, the U.S Environmental Protection Agency presented DuPont with its annual "Presidential Green Chemistry Award" for the company’s research leading to the development of the Bio-PDO™ corn derived chemical process. The DuPont Oval, DuPont™, The miracles of science™, Bio-PDO™ and Sorona® are registered trademarks or trademarks of DuPont or its affiliates.