PARIS — Rohm and Haas has announced it will begin construction of a new adhesives and sealants production unit in the Rohm and Haas Jacareí Plant, Brazil, near Sao Paulo. This $15 million investment shows the company’s commitment to worldwide growth for its adhesives activities.

The groundbreaking ceremonywas held on September 14, 2000, and attended by local authorities, customers, employees and executives from Rohm and Haas including Nicholas Gutwein, vice president & worldwide business director for the Adhesivesaand Sealants business, Frank Bozich, worldwide business manager Packaging and Converting, and Guillermo Novo, vice president of Rohm and Haas Latin America.

The new, state-of-the-art unit, scheduled to begin operations in September 2001, will produce high-performance polyester- and polyurethane-based adhesives, which are used in a variety of applications including flexible packaging, labels, automotive interior trim, rubber-to-metal bonding agents, industrial lamination and shoes.

Rohm and Haas, a leading supplier of adhesives and sealants, with annual sales of $6+ billion — over three-quarter of a billion in adhesives alone — is one of the largest specialty chemicals companies in the world and operates 150 manufacturing plants in 25 countries.