Clariant : to open state-of-the-art Consumer Care Innovation Center near New York City

• New Clariant Consumer Care Innovation Center to open mid-2019
• Location puts Clariant close to many major consumer care brands
• Enhances ability to provide more differentiated and even tailored product offerings for Personal and Home Care

Muttenz, May 7, 2019 - Clariant, a focused and innovative specialty chemical company, today announced it plans to open a state-of-the-art consumer care innovation center near New York City in mid-2019. With this Consumer Care Innovation Center (CCIC), Clariant further strengthens its ability to leverage its portfolio of solutions to provide more differentiated and even tailored product offerings to its global personal and home care as well as healthcare customers.

'We strive to provide best customer experience and reliable customer fulfillment. Having this center in place will enhance our ability to do so for our global personal and home care as well as healthcare customers, and especially for those located in the New York City area. By intensifying cooperation, we can deliver products with more substantiated claims on customer formulations that provide the basis for a successful and mutually beneficial relationship and drive growth for Clariant in North America', said Ernesto Occhiello, CEO of Clariant.

The new CCIC is set to start its activities in July 2019 and will be located in New Providence, NJ, USA, which gives it unprecedented access to many key customers and key players located in the New York-New Jersey Metro area. The 1,333 sq. meter (14, 350 sq. foot) facility will incorporate state-of-the-art spaces such as a demonstration room, a high-tech application and claims laboratory, a testing center where lab results can be correlated with actual consumer perceivable testing and a collaboration space for interactive and creative thinking. As a result, the center will foster opportunities for Clariant's scientific, marketing and technical experts to help customers meet the increasingly complex demands of consumers and lifestyle-driven trends with innovative products and solutions that carry substantiated claims for customers' formulations.

'I am excited by all the possibilities this technical center holds for the business and our customers,' said Michael Haspel, Head of Regional Business Line North America, Business Unit Industrial & Consumer Specialties (ICS). 'We will be able to build our expertise and provide more differentiated product offering with substantiated solutions that will really support our customers' brands and their evolution. We are in the midst of energizing times in Consumer Care with lifestyle trends propelling change. We are looking forward to extending our regional support and building valuable partnerships, working directly with our customers in an inspiring and innovative space.'

Clariant is one of the largest global providers of specialty chemicals and application solutions for consumer care and already supports various segments with a wide range of ingredients, including but not limited to: laundry detergents, fabric softeners, disinfectants and dishwashing detergents, as well as skin & hair care products, wet wipes and select pharmaceuticals.

Clariant has 50+ sites, close to 2,300 employees and a 2018 turnover of around $1.29 billion across the US and Canada.