GlobeNewswire Inc | Apr 19, 2021 04:45PM EDT

April 19, 2021

COLUMBIA, Md., April 19, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA), the leading independent supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and polypropylene (PP) process technology, has licensed its UNIPOLPP Process Technology and its UNIPOL UNIPPAC Process Control Software to Sinochem Hongrun Petrochemical Chemical Co., Ltd. (Sinochem Hongrun). The UNIPOL PP facility, located in Qingzhou, Weifang, Shandong, China will start up in 2022 and will include one reactor line with the capability to produce 450KTA of polypropylene.

The award increases the total amount of licensed volume for UNIPOL PP technology worldwide to more than 27 million tons per annum.

Our team at Grace is excited to embark on this project with Sinochem Hongrun and welcome them to the UNIPOL PP Family. We are committed to their success through the services and solutions that we offer for the lifetime of the plant., Laura Schwinn, President of Graces Specialty Catalysts business said. Schwinn added, Sinochem Hongruns decision to purchase our UNIPOL UNIPPAC Process Control software allows them to optimize their plant operations and extract performance improvements on an ongoing basis, providing them with competitive advantages in cost, quality, and product differentiation. This, coupled with our process and product improvements program and the vast experience of our global technical services team, will ensure that Sinochem Hongrun meets their goal of producing a wide variety of resins for the Chinese market.

Grace's all gas-phase UNIPOLPP Process technology delivers technology, innovation, and services for plant lifetime performance. The versatile process technology provides the broadest range of PP homopolymers, random copolymers, and impact copolymers in the industry.

The UNIPOL PP process technology is a state-of-the-art engineering technology that achieves mechanical and operational simplicity and delivers leading total installed cost and operating expense, accelerated project schedules, fast startups, grade transitions, and business results. The process technology, coupled with Graces proprietary catalyst and donor systems and the UNIPOL UNIPPAC Process Control software, allows for maximum performance.

As members of the UNIPOL PP Process technology community, licensees benefit from Graces long-term commitment to their success through the exchange of best practices, continuous process and product improvements, access to its superior catalyst and donor technology and dedicated technical support.

Sinochem Hongrun chose the UNIPOL PP Process Technology for their site in Shandong, China. because of ease of operation, product breadth, life-time economics and the support Grace provides during the lifetime of the plant. Sinochem Hongrun plans to produce polypropylene resins to meet the growing demand for more complex polypropylene products in China.

VisitGraces websitefor more information aboutGrace polyolefin catalystsandprocess technology.

About Graces UNIPOLPP Process Technology

Grace is the leading supplier of polyolefin catalyst technology and has the broadest portfolio of polyolefin catalyst technologies of any independent polyethylene/polypropylene catalyst producer. Grace is an industry leader in offering UNIPOLPP Process Technology, 6thGeneration non-phthalate CONSISTAcatalysts and donors, and UNIPOL UNIPPACProcess Control software. UNIPOL and UNIPOL UNIPPAC are trademarks of The Dow Chemical Company or an affiliated company of Dow. W. R. Grace & Co.-Conn. and/or its affiliates are licensed to use the UNIPOL and UNIPOL UNIPPAC trademarks in the area of polypropylene.

About Grace

Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and engineered materials. The companys two industry-leading business segmentsCatalysts Technologies and Materials Technologiesprovide innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes of our customers around the world. With approximately 3,900 employees, Grace operates and/or sells to customers in over 70 countries. More information about Grace is available at grace.com.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, that is, information related to future, not past, events. Such statements generally include the words believes, plans, intends, targets, will, expects, suggests, anticipates, outlook, continues, or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, expected financial positions; results of operations; cash flows; financing plans; business strategy; operating plans; capital and other expenditures; competitive positions; growth opportunities for existing products; benefits from new technology and cost reduction initiatives, plans and objectives; and markets for securities. For these statements, Grace claims the protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Like other businesses, Grace is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from its projections or that could cause other forward-looking statements to prove incorrect. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: risks related to foreign operations, especially in emerging regions; the costs and availability of raw materials, energy and transportation; the effectiveness of its research and development and growth investments; acquisitions and divestitures of assets and businesses; developments affecting Graces outstanding indebtedness; developments affecting Grace's pension obligations; its legal and environmental proceedings; environmental compliance costs; the inability to establish or maintain certain business relationships; the inability to hire or retain key personnel; natural disasters such as storms and floods, and force majeure events; changes in tax laws and regulations; international trade disputes, tariffs, and sanctions; the potential effects of cyberattacks; and those additional factors set forth in Grace's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are readily available on the internet at www.sec.gov. Reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on Grace's projections and forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates those projections and statements are made. Grace undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revision to the projections and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this announcement.

Media RelationsCaitlin LeopoldT +1 410.531.8870caitlin.leopold@grace.com

Investor RelationsJason Hershiser T +1 410 531 8835 Jason.hershiser@grace.com