COLUMBIA, Md., HORSHAM, Pa., and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Oct. 10 /PRNewswire/ --
Equity partners W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA), VerticalNet, Inc.
(Nasdaq: VERT) and Aspen Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq: AZPN) today announced they
have formed e-catalysts, Inc., a new on-line B2B Exchange for the $10 billion
catalysts industry. e-Catalysts.com will enable companies doing business in
the catalyst industry to make faster, more efficient decisions in the purchase
and sale of catalysts and related products and services. The company will
facilitate the exchange of information, online collaboration and optimization
of business processes with trading partners, and execution of secure
transactions via the Internet. e-Catalysts.com, a digital marketplace, is
expected to go live in December 2000 and will operate as an open, neutral
marketplace, enabling all trading partners in the refining, petrochemical,
chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries to participate.
"This new vertical marketplace clearly demonstrates the power of the
network effect in industrial trading environments, combining Grace's industry
leadership, VerticalNet's leading digital marketplace solutions, and Aspen
Technology's powerful e-Business optimization, supply chain, and collaboration
solutions," said Joe Galli, VerticalNet President and CEO. "We are excited to
partner with Grace, one of the world's leading specialty chemicals suppliers,
and to align with AspenTech, the new economy leader for process manufacturers,
to capitalize on the global scope of this market and bring another industrial
sector online."
"e-Catalysts will drive productivity for its members by reducing
transaction costs, providing B2B collaboration, utilizing supply chain
management services, and optimizing their operating units," said Paul J.
Norris, Chairman, President, and CEO of Grace. "We believe that e-Catalysts
will grow our catalysts businesses to the next level, allowing us to better
serve our customers and providing closer ties to our suppliers, generating
great value through the addition of value-added services."
"AspenTech is pleased to be partnering with Grace and VerticalNet to
build a next generation B2B netmarket," said Larry Evans, Chairman and CEO of
AspenTech. "This next generation e-business netmarket will not only bring
efficiency to the catalyst market but provide a platform for the delivery of
new services and added value to all participants in e-Catalysts by integrating
business processes, leveraging plant and refinery information, and providing
optimization tools in a collaborative environment."
e-Catalysts, Inc. has begun a search for a CEO and other key staff
members, and is currently in discussions with all major catalyst manufacturers
regarding their participation.