Elemica conducted its first transactions in both Europe and the Americas on January 1, 2001.

PHILADELPHIA –Elemica, a neutral e-marketplace founded in August 2000 by some of the world’s leading chemical companies, conducted its first transactions in both Europe and the Americas on January 1, 2001. More than half of the company’s investors agreed to be part of Elemica’s phase-one launch.

Participants in the beta test of the chemicals e-marketplace included 16 of the industry’s leading companies, including Air Products and Chemicals, ATOFINA, BASF, Bayer, BP, Celanese, Ciba Specialty Chemicals, Degussa-Hüls AG, The Dow Chemical Co., DSM, DuPont, Millennium Chemicals, Rhodia, Rohm and Haas, Shell, and Solvay.

Client feedback from the pilot program will enable Elemica to make needed modifications before rolling out to a broader client base later in the first quarter of 2001. Throughout the phase-one rollout, Elemica will regularly add functionality consistent with the ERP-to-ERP-connection vision of the Internet-connected chemical industry. Phase two of Elemica’s implementation strategy will begin with beta testing in the second quarter of 2001.

During phase two, ERP connectivity will be made available to those companies that are ready for this level of integration. Phase two will also mark the transition of Elemica’s basic service offering to more complex logistics functionality.

According to Kent A. Dolby, president and CEO of Elemica, phase one of the implementation strategy includes offering browser-based transaction capabilities to a limited number of participants, which minimizes launch risk and enables Elemica to incorporate user feedback into the design process. “We are pleased with the success of this first phase of our launch strategy – all transactions our beta partners made were completed seamlessly in real time,” said Dolby.

By December 2001, Elemica plans to offer full functionality. Among the capabilities to be added during the final stage of implementation are standard contract establishment and supply-chain consulting. For more information, visit www.elemica.com.