Horgen, Switzerland - September 30, 2008

Marketing and sales responsibility for all applications of OPTIM™ Synthetic Glycerine, currently marketed by SAFECHEM, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow"), has been assumed by Dow Wolff Cellulosics (DWC). The joint marketing effort of OPTIM Synthetic Glycerine with the DWC Pharmaceutical Excipients business is consistent with Dow’s drive for consistent earnings, value generation, and focus on market facing strategies. Eric Workman, commercial leader for OPTIM products, will manage all aspects of the commercial strategy, including marketing, communications, and technical services.

"This realignment of OPTIM products will bring added convenience to customers in multiple markets, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care, food, and other industrial applications," commented Workman. "This is another excellent example of our strategy to meet the needs of our customers by offering the full range of products, technologies, and application expertise they look to us to provide to help accelerate the development of new products."

Order processing and invoicing will continue to be managed by SAFECHEM, and OPTIM™ Synthetic Glycerine products will continue to be produced by Dow at its production site in Stade, Germany.

About OPTIM™ Synthetic Glycerine

OPTIM™ synthetic glycerine is over 99.7% pure and is USP/EP compliant, enabling it to be used for critical pharmaceutical and biotechnology applications, such as insulin, worldwide. In contrast, impurities in non-synthetic or by-product glycerin have been known to interfere with the active pharmaceutical ingredients of some drugs. For this reason and others, OPTIM synthetic glycerine is an excellent choice for pharmaceutical applications versus non-synthetic or by-product glycerin. The purity and stability of OPTIM also make it ideal for use in sensitive personal care and food products. More information about OPTIM products is available at www.dow.com/glycerine.

About Dow

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For Editorial Information:

Mike Altmann
Dow Wolff Cellulosics
1-732-563-5088