28 Sept 2006

Azdel, Inc. Further Hones Competitive Edge with Exclusive RocTool License for High-Speed Molding of Exterior Transportation Panels

GE Plastics, Azdel, Inc. & RocTool Team up to Slash Cycle Times on Class A Thermoplastic Composite Body Panels; RocTool’s Cage System^® is the Key

BERGEN OP ZOOM, THE NETHERLANDS — September 28, 2006 — Azdel, Inc. has acquired an exclusive license from RocTool to use the latter’s high-tech Cage System® to produce exterior body panels for planes, trains, RVs, and other transportation vehicles with a Class A surface using AZDEL* thermoplastic composites. The announcement comes as the result of a two-year effort by Azdel, GE Plastics, and RocTool to reduce cycle times by a factor of 30 (under three minutes for a hood). The three companies’ ultimate goal is to enable customers to capitalize on the estimated 50-percent weight savings using Azdel’s material solutions while minimizing financial impact.

The Cage System was chosen by Azdel, Inc. as the best technology to process AZDEL thermoplastic composites for high-volume production of Class A exterior body panels that are ready to be painted straight from the mold. Thermo-compression and thermoforming are the processes used.

During the initial development period, the three companies designed and commissioned three exterior body panel tools ranging from a 1/16-scale automotive hood tool to a 1/1-scale hood tool, showing that the technology is scalable to real-size parts. Further development is underway to reach targeted cycle times and a Class A surface.

The Cage System, an innovative, high-speed composite molding technology developed by the RocTool Company of France, allows instantaneous heating of the mold surface only, leaving the rest of the mold cold. This technology involves passing an electrical current over the surface of the mold by means of inductors that are placed around it to form a cage.

Azdel Inc. is a 50/50 joint venture of General Electric Company and PPG Industries, based in Lynchburg, Va. It produces AZDEL composite sheet materials for a wide range of industries.

For more information on RocTool’s Cage System, please go to www.roctool.com

Reader enquiries

GE Plastics, Automotive

Plasticslaan 1
4600 AC Bergen op Zoom

+31 164 29 31 48

anne.clement@ge.com

Notes for editors

About GE Plastics

GE Plastics (www.geplastics.com) is a global supplier of plastic resins widely used in automotive, healthcare, consumer electronics, transportation, performance packaging, building & construction, telecommunications, and optical media applications. The company manufactures and compounds polycarbonate, ABS, SAN, ASA, PPE, PC/ABS, PBT and PEI resins, as well as the LNP* line of high-performance specialty compounds. GE Plastics, Specialty Film & Sheet manufactures high-performance Lexan sheet and film products used in thousands of demanding applications worldwide. In addition, GE Plastics’ dedicated Automotive organization is an experienced, world-wide competitor, offering leading plastics solutions for five key automotive segments: body panels and glazing; under the hood applications; component; structures and interiors; and lighting. As a Worldwide Partner of the Olympic Games, GE is the exclusive provider of a wide range of innovative products and services that are integral to a successful Games.

® Cage System is a registered trademark of RocTool Company.

*AZDEL is a trademark of Azdel, Inc., a 50/50 joint venture of General Electric Company and PPG

Industries.

* LNP and Lexan are trademarks of General Electric Company.