Fact Sheet

Great Lakes Chemical Corporation
9025 North River Road, Suite 400
Indianapolis, Indiana 46240 USA
+1 317 715 3000
+1 317 715 3060 Fax
www.greatlakes.com

Great Lakes is a global company with strong, viable specialty chemical businesses, a solid balance sheet, and an expanding pipeline of new products. As the world's leading producer of certain specialty chemicals for applications such as water treatment, specialty household cleaners, flame retardants, polymer stabilizers, fire suppression, and performance products, Great Lakes holds the number one or number two market position in 85 percent of our businesses. Great Lakes produces over 8,500 products that are marketed in more than 90 countries worldwide.

With revenue of $1.6 billion in 2004, our more than 3,800 employees worldwide help Great Lakes create products that clean and sanitize water, eliminate germs and contaminants from household surfaces, protect business and people from fire, extend the useful life of plastics, and enhance performance characteristics in a variety of products from furniture to electronics.

NYSE Ticker Symbol: GLK

Founded: 1933 in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan USA

Worldwide Headquarters:
Indianapolis, Indiana USA

Regional Headquarters:
Manchester, England
Singapore, Republic of Singapore
Frauenfeld, Switzerland
Lawrenceville, Georgia USA
West Lafayette, Indiana USA

Locations:
Americas
Scarborough, Ontario Canada
El Dorado, Arkansas USA
McFarland, California USA
Conyers, Georgia USA
Lawrenceville, Georgia USA
Ashley, Indiana USA
Indianapolis, Indiana USA
West Lafayette, Indiana USA
Lake Charles, Louisiana USA
Adrian, Michigan USA
Reynosa, Mexico

Europe
Antwerp, Belgium
Herentals, Belgium
Cheltenham, England
Ellesmere Port, England
Manchester, England
Catenoy, France
Mundolsheim, France
Saint Denis, France
Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
Planegg, Germany
Waldkraiburg, Germany
Pedrengo, Italy
Ravenna, Italy
Arnhem, The Netherlands
Barcelona, Spain
Frauenfeld, Switzerland

Middle East
Al-Jubail, Saudi Arabia
Midrand, South Africa
Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Asia / Pacific
Victoria, Australia
Causeway Bay, Hong Kong
Mumbai, India
Tokyo, Japan
Pyongtaek, Korea
Seoul, Korea
Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China
Singapore, Republic of Singapore
Taipei, Taiwan
Bangkok, Thailand

Employees:
3,800

Officers:
John J. Gallagher, III
Chief Executive Officer (acting)

Larry J. Bloom
Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer, Consumer Products

Angelo C. Brisimitzakis
Executive Vice President, Flame Retardants and Performance Products

Richard T. Higgons
Executive Vice President, Business Development

Maurizio Butti
Executive Vice President, Polymer Stabilizers

John B. Blatz
Senior Vice President, Environmental Health and Safety

Kevin M. Dunn
Executive Vice President, Consumer Products

Richard J. Kinsley
Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Communications

Jeffrey M. Lipshaw
Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Jeffrey Potrzebowski
Chief Financial Officer (acting)

Zoe Schumaker
Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer

William L. Sherwood
Vice President and Corporate Controller

Financial Highlights:
(millions, except per share data)

Results of Continuing Operations
excluding special charges, repositioning, and other items (underlying):

	2004		2003
Net sales	$1,603.7		$1,425.9
Gross profit	342.2		288.7
Operating income	92.4		49.5
Income from continuing operations (before income taxes and cumulative effect of accounting change)	54.3		11.8
Earnings per share—basic and diluted for continuing operations (before cumulative effect of accounting change)	0.74		0.17
Working capital (excluding cash and cash equivalents)	336.0		176.5
Debt (net of cash and cash equivalents)	217.1		264.0
Debt	439.3		434.7
Stockholders' equity	875.5		743.5

Segment		Business
Industrial Performance  Products		Brominated Performance Products
		Flame Retardants
		Fire Suppression
		Fluorine Specialties
		Industrial Water Additives
		Performance Additives and Fluids
		Polymer Stabilizers
Consumer Products		Pool and Spa Care
		Household Cleaning

Year		Event
1936		Great Lakes Chemical Company founded in Michigan in 1936 to extract bromine from underground salt water brine deposits
1948		Great Lakes Chemical Company acquired by McClanahan Oil, a firm founded in Michigan in 1933. McClanahan was involved in oil and gas leases and was led by Charles Hale (future Chairman of Great Lakes Chemical Corporation).
1950		The combined companies became known as Great Lakes Oil and Chemical Company, with its primary interest in oil and gas leases; company headquarters were moved from Grand Rapids, Michigan to Los Angeles.
1953 - 1960s		Great Lakes Chemical Company began research in West Lafayette, Indiana, USA through a relationship with consultant and future managing director, Earl T. McBee, and adopted the city as its headquarters in 1963. Great Lakes evolved from an emphasis in oil and gas to bromine-based chemicals, and the company changed its name to Great Lakes Chemical Corporation in 1960. The world's largest bromine plant was built in South Arkansas, USA as a joint venture with Ethyl Corporation to develop the rich brine fields in Arkansas. The Michigan bromine plant was closed. Charles Hale named honorary chairman. Earl McBee became chairman, president, and chief executive officer, and he serves until his death in 1973 after a 20-year association with Great Lakes.
1970s		Emerson Kampen, who was executive vice president at the time, was named president in 1973 and continues in the post until he resigns in 1995 due to health problems. A $20 million expansion included a new bromine plant and several flame retardant facilities in South Arkansas in 1974. Great Lakes acquires several business including completion fluids business for oil and gas wells; toxicological research services; and water treatment.
1980s		Great Lakes continued its expansion in South Arkansas, doubling the size of its bromine fields and adding to the company's flame retardants business. Great Lakes purchased a majority interest in OSCA Inc., a well-established service company focusing on drilling completion fluids. Construction of the world's largest halon plant in South Arkansas is completed. Great Lakes acquired Europe's only major bromine producer, Octel Associates, with operations in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Italy, to increase market share for the company's brominated products. Great Lakes makes changes to position itself for the future, focusing on raw materials, marketing, distribution, and talent.
early 1990s		Great Lakes continued to make acquisitions including: BioLab Inc.—swimming pool and spa products. Degussa AG's chemical manufacturing facility in Konstanz, Germany. Plants in Ellesmere Port, United Kingdom; Paimbocut, France; Manchester, England; Budapest, Hungary; Catenoy and Persan, France; and Munich, Germany.
1993		BioLab Inc., a Great Lakes subsidiary, acquired AquaChem Swimming Pool Division of Grow Group Inc. Great Lakes introduces halon replacement fire suppressant FM-200®, the first product of its kind to receive Underwriters Laboratories (UL) listing mark. FM-200® continues to be the world's leading clean agent fire suppressant.
1994		Great Lakes continued its expansion in Europe with acquisitions in France, Italy, and Germany with complementary products for inclusion in the company's Polymer Additives and Performance Chemicals businesses. Great Lakes formed joint venture with Dead Sea Bromine for production of TBBA in Israel. Great Lakes expanded its ultraviolet manufacturing capabilities. Robert McDonald named president and CEO, succeeding Emerson Kampen, who led the company until health problems forced him to retire after 20 years of distinguished service. Emerson Kampen passed away in 1995.
1995		Great Lakes completes a major expansion of its bromine production facilities in South Arkansas, USA, and Amlwch, UK.
1997		Great Lakes entered joint venture in Korea, Asia Stabilizers, for the production of polymer stabilizers and acquires Anzon and its antimony-based flame retardants business.
1998		Robert McDonald retires after 30 years of service. Mark Bulriss named president and chief executive officer; he was former president of Allied Signal Corporation's Polymer Division, as well as 17 years of experience with GE Plastics. Great Lakes begins production of phenolic and phophite antioxidants in the Middle East through a joint venture with Al Zamil Group. Great Lakes completed a spin-off of Octel Corporation to include the company's petroleum additives products. Great Lakes increased its efforts in new product development across the corporation with an ultimate goal of 30 percent of revenues derived from products introduced within the past five years. The company deems the measurement its Vitality Index.
1999		Great Lakes acquires FMC Corporation's process additives division, which adds non-halogen products to Great Lakes' flame retardants holdings and more than doubles the industrial segment of the company's water treatment business. Great Lakes acquires pharmaceutical intermediates business, NSC Technologies, from Monsanto. Great Lakes completes sale of furfural and furfural derivatives business to Penn Specialty Chemicals. Great Lakes enters joint venture in Saudi Arabia. A production facility is completed and production of Great Lakes' antioxidants begin.
2000		Great Lakes spins-off 40 percent of its stake in OSCA Inc., the company's energy products and services business. Great Lakes joins forces with ICI Klea to manufacture and supply a medical propellant used in metered dose inhalers.
2001		Great Lakes achieved a Vitality Index measure of 13 percent, up from less than 1 percent in 1998. Great Lakes acquires optical monomers business from Akzo Nobel, complementing its line of hard cast optical lenses. Production of specialty antioxidant blends begins at the company's joint venture, Gulf Stabilizers Industries, in Saudi Arabia. Great Lakes completes the sale of its fine chemicals research facility in Illinois, USA, to Albany Molecular Research.
2002		The financial controls in place allowed Great Lakes' Chairman, President, and CEO Mark Bulriss and Chief Financial Officer John Gallagher to quickly certify the company's results to the Securities and Exchange Commission as required under Sarbanes-Oxley regulations, making Great Lakes among the first 6 percent of companies to do so. Great Lakes pushed its Vitality Index measure up another 2 points to 15 percent, which accounted for $195 million in revenue. Great Lakes sold its specialty esters business to Akzo Nobel Specialty Chemicals. Great Lakes expanded its antioxidant production unit in Saudi Arabia, boosting production by 40 percent. Great Lakes sold its remaining interested in OSCA to BJ Services. Great Lakes expanded its polymer stabilizers blends facility in Pedrengo, Italy, and boosted production by 50 percent. Great Lakes acquired the non-staining phenolic antioxidants business of Flexsys. Great Lakes completes the largest restructuring in the company's history, carrying out a strategy that first started in late-2001. The company emerges a stronger, more competitive company.
2003		Great Lakes acquired Lime-O-Sol and its line of specialty household cleaners, The Works®, adding to the company's line of consumer products. The company continued its acquisitions in specialty household cleaners with the purchase of A&M Cleaning Products and its line of Greased Lightning® and Orange Blast® products. Great Lakes sells fine chemicals business located in Halebank, United Kingdom, to Pentagon Chemicals. Great Lakes launched Firemaster® 550, a new flame retardant for flexible polyurethane foam and announces it will cease production of a widely used flame retardants, penta-BDE and octa-BDE, by end of 2004.
2004		Great Lakes forms a strategic alliance with MYCELX Technologies to market patented environmental products for use in pool and spa care and industrial water treatment. Great Lakes formed a 50-50 joint venture with Laurel Industries, a part of the chemicals operations of Occidental Petroleum Corporation (or OxyChem), to develop, produce, and market antimony-based flame retardants under the name GLCC Laurel LLC. Great Lakes sells its toxicological services business, WIL Research Laboratories, to private equity investment firm Behrman Capital. John J. Gallagher III named acting Chief Financial Officer. Nigel D.T. Andrews becomes non-executive chairman of the Board.
		Great Lakes continues its leadership position in specialty chemicals in the areas of recreational and industrial water treatment, specialty household cleaners, flame retardants, fire suppressants, polymer stabilizers, performance additives and fluids, optical monomers, and brominated performance products.