Aluminum Oxide C Becomes AEROXIDE^® Alu C

Wednesday, August 27, 2003

A New Product Name for Fumed Metal Oxides by Degussa Enhances Simplicity - Same Product, Different Name

Beginning September 1, 2003, Degussa AG, Dusseldorf will combine its aluminum and titanium oxides under the product name AEROXIDE^®. In the future, the product groups AEROSIL^® (powdered fumed silica), AERODISP^® (dispersion of fumed silica), AEROPERL^® (special granulated fumed silica) and AEROXIDE^® (fumed aluminum and titanium oxides) will be combined under the brand AEROSIL^®.

"The name change will make it easier to identify our products and facilitate communication between our customers and sales organization. It’s also an attempt to simplify our product range," explains Jürgen Brühmann, head of the Aerosil Business Line at Degussa.

The only thing changing is the name, so Degussa is still keeping the same production process, formulas, specifications, product characteristics, and physico-chemical and technical application data. Products well known on the market will be merely combined in a new product group. Customers can continue to obtain the AEROXIDE^® product range at the same high level of quality. Upon the first delivery following the name change, AEROXIDE^® customers will automatically receive a safety data sheet with the new product name.

As the world’s leading manufacturer of fumed silica - sold by the Aerosil & Silanes Business Unit under the brand name AEROSIL^® and the product groups AEROSIL^®, AERODISP^®, AEROPERL^®, and AEROXIDE^® - Degussa operates plants in Rheinfelden and Leverkusen, Germany; Antwerp, Belgium; Roussillon, France; Mobile, Alabama, and Waterford, New York, in the United States; as well as Yokkaichi in Japan. Another production site is slated to commence operation next year in Map Ta Phut, Thailand. The brand name AEROXIDE^® refers to "fumed" metal oxides - or metal oxides manufactured in a high-tech combustion process. A range of particle sizes of this white powder is achieved through the precise adjustment and control of an array of process parameters. The many applications of AEROXIDE^® Alu C include antiblocking agents for films, uniform light efficiency for fluorescent tubes, or increasing the brilliance of color ink jet prints.