Ashland Specialty Chemical Company Purchases Remaining

Interest in Austrian Joint Venture DUBLIN, Ohio (PROTEXT) - Ashland Specialty Chemical Company, adivision of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH), purchased the remaining 50%ownership in its Austrian joint venture company Donau Drew fromDonau Chemie on May 31, 1999. Ashland Specialty Chemical Companyis headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, U.S. Donau Chemie isheadquartered in Vienna. Terms of the share purchase agreementwere not announced. The original joint venture was formed in1990. The company will operate as a wholly owned affiliate companyof Ashland Inc. within Ashland Specialty Company's DrewIndustrial Division. The company will supply products forindustrial water treatment, cooling, boiler, wastewater andspecific process chemicals and will service markets in Austriaand the former East-European region. According to James A. Duquin, president of Ashland SpecialtyChemical Company, "The Austrian operation provides us withfurther access to develop this region which is a strategic growtharea for Ashland's Drew Industrial Division. We look forward tocontinuing to provide quality products and services to ourexisting and future customers in this region." The Drew Industrial Division is a major supplier of specialtyproducts and services for the worldwide industrial watertreatment, commercial and institutional water treatment,wastewater treatment, pulp and paper processing, mining and paintand coatings markets. Ashland Specialty Chemical Company, a division of AshlandInc., is a leading, worldwide supplier of specialty chemicalsserving industries including adhesives, automotive, composites,foundry, merchant marine, paint, paper, plastics, andsemiconductor. Visit our Internet web site at www.ashspec.com orwww.ashchem.com to learn more about these operations. Ashland Inc. is a diversified company with wholly ownedoperations in distribution, specialty chemicals, motor oil andcar care products, and highway construction. Ashland DistributionCompany is the largest distributor of chemicals, plastics andfiber reinforcements in North America, a leading distributor offine ingredients in North America, and a leading Pan-Europeandistributor of plastics. Valvoline's major consumer brandsinclude Valvoline(R) motor oils, Eagle One(R) appearanceproducts, Zerex(R) antifreeze and Pyroil(R) Performance Productsautomotive chemicals. APAC is the nation's largest highwaycontractor with operations in 14 southern and midwestern states.Ashland also has a 38-percent equity interest in Marathon AshlandPetroleum LLC and a majority equity interest in Arch Coal, Inc.(NYSE: ACI). Ashland Inc.'s Internet address ishttp://www.ashland.com . (R)Registered Trademark, Ashland Inc. ots Original TextService: Ashland Inc. Internet: http://www.newsaktuell.deContact: Stacie Noel of Ashland Inc., 614-790-3446 Company NewsOn-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/065263.html or fax, 800-758-5804, ext. 065263 Web site: http://www.ashspec.com Website: http://www.ashchem.com Web site: http://www.ashland.com

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