Released on January 30, 2008

Ashland Inc., Dublin, Ohio, recently announced its intent to acquire property in the chemical industrial zone of Jhagadia, Gujarat, India, for a facility that will produce resins for the composites and metalcasting consumables industries.

The move represents a significant step in Ashland’s infiltration of the rapidly growing industrial nation. Officials for Ashland India Private Ltd (AIPL), Mumbai, India, which administers the sales and marketing operations for Ashland’s divisions located in India, said in a press release the purchase is expected to close in March. It will mark Ashland’s first wholly-owned manufacturing site in India.

“The 25-plus acre site will allow us to accommodate our expansion efforts as we serve our customers in India and elsewhere in the world,” said Mike Swartzlander, vice president and managing director of AIPL since March 2007. “The state of Gujarat, where our future plant will be located, occupies a very strategic location between New Delhi to the north and Mumbai to the south.”

In addition to its holdings, Ashland participates in two Indian joint ventures: Chembond Drewtreat Ltd. and Valvoline Cummins Ltd.