SOCMA: Society of Chemical Manufacturers and Affiliates

PITTSBURGH – January 21, 2010 – In the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti, LANXESS Corporation, based in Findlay Township, has allowed local employee, Jeff Ritter, to devote his time and procurement expertise to heading up coordination efforts with Deep Springs International (DSI), a Grove City, PA-based non-profit organization that helps Haitians obtain safe drinking water. Jeff is leading this effort because his son, Michael, was working for DSI in the village of Baudin, Haiti when the earthquake hit.

Jeff, who works in the Technical and Services Procurement department at LANXESS, is serving full-time as the primary liaison/communicator with suppliers and DSI to help coordinate clean water efforts in the disaster response. LANXESS donated approximately $200,000 to help fund DSI’s project that will provide 20,000 household water purification systems for the relief effort.  LANXESS also assisted DSI in procuring more than four million chemical water treatment tablets needed to provide Haitian families with safe water. LANXESS funded the procurement of the tablets and other supplies that will produce 20 million gallons of safe water for the relief effort.

“After the earthquake hit and I knew my son Michael was okay, I approached my boss about devoting some time to assisting my son’s emergency response effort,” said Jeff Ritter. “LANXESS was already looking to help earthquake relief efforts, so my relationship with DSI made for the perfect fit, and the company could not be more supportive.”

Deep Springs International’s clean water program provides a sustainable solution to the water crisis in Haiti by providing simple water treatment systems so that even the poorest families can treat their own water.  The systems use modified buckets and liquid chlorine solution, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). In response to the earthquake, DSI has employed the use of solid chlorine tablets compatible with the DSI systems for water treatment. In emergency situations, the tablets are the most immediate solution and will fill the gap in the short term until the liquid can be produced and distributed.

Jeff Ritter has previous emergency response procurement experience because of two hurricanes that hit LANXESS plants in the past few years. “Any type of natural disaster response situation is a totally different mode of action than a typical day-to-day job,” Ritter explained. “The priorities shift and speed becomes the most important priority.” 

About LANXESS
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently around 14,600 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 46 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacture and marketing of specialty chemicals, plastics, rubber and intermediates.

About Deep Springs International
Deep Springs International (DSI) is an organization that provides affordable water purification systems to the people of Haiti. Families are equipped with five-gallon buckets and a chlorine-based chemical solution that treats contaminated water, five gallons at a time.  For more information, visit deepspringsinternational.org. 

Information for editors:
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Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by LANXESS AG management. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. The company assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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