Invensys and Rhodia Business Enterprise Sign Sole-Source Supplier Agreement For Foxboro Control Systems

Business Wire, March 28, 2002

Business/Technology Editors

FOXBORO, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2002

Agreement Follows Exhaustive Evaluation of

All Major Automation Vendors

Invensys Production Management and the North American operation of Rhodia's Home, Personal Care and Industrial Ingredients (HPCII) enterprise (Cranbury, NJ) have announced that the two organizations have signed an agreement that makes Invensys the sole-source supplier of process control systems and associated services for seven Rhodia HPCII plants in North America.

These seven plants will standardize on Foxboro's industry-leading I/A Series process control systems. Twenty-two additional Rhodia plants in North America can, at their discretion, purchase Foxboro process control systems and field instrumentation under the contract terms.

This agreement follows an exhaustive review process that evaluated all major automation vendors on the basis of their technical solutions, commercial arrangements, and customer support capabilities.

At a signing ceremony held recently in Baltimore, Ron Lehman, director of manufacturing at Rhodia HPCII, stated, "We look forward to taking advantage of Foxboro/Invensys competencies that can help Rhodia HPCII North America assess our existing manufacturing assets in order to identify opportunities for greater overall efficiencies and improved return on those assets." He added that, through effective system implementations, Rhodia HPCII looks to reap additional benefits, including enhanced productivity, process improvement, and product consistency.

Peter Lovelace, vice president of strategic accounts at Invensys, commented, "While the commercial aspect of the agreement focuses on reducing upfront costs, we anticipate that the greater value to Rhodia will come from the ongoing performance improvement benefits realized from standardization on a common, best-in-class automation solution across multiple manufacturing facilities."

Woody Woodruff, vice president of Invensys' North America region, added, "This represents an exciting expansion of our existing relationship with Rhodia. We are proud to have been selected to play a key role in helping Rhodia HPCII North America realize its vision to develop world-class automation and information solutions. With the I/A Series system, we are providing Rhodia with a well-proven automation platform to meet both today's needs and the exciting future vision that Rhodia has shared with us."

Rhodia HPCII is a Rhodia Group Enterprise, the world leader in stain-resistant polymers and mild amphoteric surfactants. Rhodia HPCII develops high value added products and solutions for customers around the world on the cosmetics, detergents, agrochemical, metal treatment and oilfield markets.

Rhodia (NYSE:RHA) is one of the world's leaders in specialty chemicals, providing products and services to the automotive, health care, fragrance, apparel, electronic, personal care, pertrochemical and environmental markets, Rhodia generated net sales of 7.2 billion euros ($6.5 billion) in 2001 and employs about 27,000 people worldwide. Rhodia is listed on the Paris and New York stock exchanges.

Invensys plc, the international production technology and energy management group, specializes in helping companies to improve efficiency, performance and profitability. With close to 76,000 employees, Invensys is headquartered in London, England.

Our Production Management businesses work closely with customers in order to drive up performance of their production assets and maximize the return on investments in product technologies. The division includes APV, Avantis, Baan, Eurotherm, Foxboro, Pacific Simulation, Simulation Sciences, Triconex, and Wonderware and it addresses the oil, gas, and chemicals; food beverage and personal healthcare; power; pulp and paper; and discrete and hybrid manufacturing sectors.

Our Energy Management businesses actively work with clients involved in both the supply and consumption of energy, developing systems using innovative technologies that improve the reliability and security of power supplies. The division includes Energy Solutions, Metering Systems, Appliance and Climate Controls and Power Systems and focuses on markets connected with power and energy infrastructure and commercial and residential buildings.