On-line Marketplace for the Catalysts Industry

Grace, Vertical Net, and Aspen Technology Form e-Catalysts

11-Oct-2000

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.

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