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 Thursday December 20 2001
DSM determines DNA sequence of Aspergillus niger genome
DSM has announced the successful completion of important research to determine the complete DNA sequence of a key production organism, the fungus Aspergillus niger. The sequencing of A. niger is the first step in one of the largest industrial genome projects in Europe - integrating a number of techniques, including high throughput DNA sequencing, DNA-micro-analyses, proteomics, metabolomics and bio-informatics - which has confirmed DSM's positioning as one of Europe's leading bio-technology companies.

Wednesday December 19 2001
Statement concerning contacts DSM with Rhodia and Aventis
Following up on earlier press releases DSM states that the contacts DSM has had with Rhodia and Aventis in the context of DSM's strategy "Vision 2005" have not been concluded succesfully and have therefore been terminated.

3D System and DSM Desotech sign joint venture agreement
3D Systems and DSM Desotech. on Wednesday announced the companies have formed OptoForm LLC, a joint venture that will focus on the development and commercialization of new equipment and materials for rapid tooling and direct and indirect in-line manufacturing processes. The materials will include ceramics, composite tooling materials and toughened plastics.

Friday November 23 2001
DSM back in the race
DSM is once again the main candidate in the battle for the takeover of the 25% stake of German chemicals group Aventis in French chemicals group Rhodia. The merger talks between Rhodia and Swiss company Clariant have failed, it was reported. DSM refused to comment on the rumours. Investors were unresponsive, and the DSM share closed down a fraction lower at EUR 39.56 following the news on Friday.

Tuesday November 20 2001
DSM to build fifth Dyneema yarn production line
DSM High Performance Fibers, the producer of Dyneema superstrong polyethylene fibre, is going to expand its production capacity once again. At the existing Heerlen (Netherlands) production site, a fifth production line with a capacity of 600 tpa will be built. The project involves an investment of around EUR 30 mln and comes on top of a number of other expansions carried out this year to meet the fast growing market demand.

Monday November 19 2001
DSM sells depository receipts Energie Beheer Nederland to the Dutch Government
On the 18th November 2001 the Dutch Government and DSM have reached agreement on the sale of DSM's depository receipts in Energie Beheer Nederland BV (EBN) for NLG 2.740 bn / EUR 1.243 bn. Transfer of the depository receipts will take place per the 28th December 2001. The transaction was prompted by the Government's intent to change the structure of the Dutch gas market within the framework of the continued liberalisation of the European internal gas market.

Thursday October 25 2001
DSM distances itself from Rhodia rumours
DSM, the Dutch chemicals group, on Thursday distanced itself from speculation that it plans to bid for Rhodia, the French speciality chemicals company, by saying it could be some time before it is able to afford a large acquisition. The company said it would have to dispose of its petro-chemicals business before it could finance purchases if it was not to damage its balance sheet ratios or credit rating.

Operating profit EUR 130 mln; net profit EUR 101 mln
DSM's net profit for the third quarter of 2001 was EUR 101 mln, down 5% from the second quarter of 2001. Net earnings per ordinary share amounted to EUR 0.99. Commenting on the results, DSM Managing Board chairman Peter Elverding said: "The rapid economic decline at the end of the second quarter gained further momentum in the third quarter, as expected.

Tuesday October 23 2001
DSM's position on Rhodia rumours
DSM, requested by the French COB (Commission des Operations de Bourse) to comment on the rumours, suggesting that DSM and BASF are preparing a bid on the shares of Rhodia, has the following reaction: In the context of the implementation of its strategy 'Vision 2005' DSM is evaluating various options to reinforce its business portfolio.

Thursday August 30 2001
DSM: production at Evergreen Nylon Recycling suspended
Production of caprolactam from recycled nylon 6 at the Evergreen Nylon Recycling plant in Augusta (Georgia, USA) will be suspended on Thursday for an indefinite period. Higher than expected production costs combined with current business and economic conditions for caprolactam in general, have led to Evergreen's decision to suspend operations.

Wednesday June 27 2001
DSM builds second Dyneema UD Plant in Greenville, NC (USA)
DSM High Performance Fibers will build a new Dyneema Uni-Directional (UD) facility in Greenville, NC (USA). DSM will create about 20 jobs for this phase of the US project. The Dyneema UD facility will be located on the site of DSM Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, a DSM company that produces fine chemicals for the pharmaceutical industry.

Monday June 25 2001
DSM: an alternative to early retirement
Nico van der Loo joined DSM, the Dutch chemicals group, as a 20-year-old factory technician in 1976. Today, aged 44, he is just completing a degree in economics with the support of the company. His 40-year-old colleague, Giovanni Ghignatti, had spent 20 years doing round-the-clock shift work in DSM plants before he moved to a day job in the busy sales support team.

Wednesday February 7 2001
DSM record profit in 2000
DSM posted a record net sales figure of EUR 8.1 bn in 2000, up 28% on 1999. The profit on ordinary activities after taxation rose to a record level of EUR 571 mln for 2000, which is about 50% higher than in 1999 (EUR 382 mln). Net earnings per ordinary share (excluding extraordinary result) amounted to EUR 5.69, about 50% higher than in 1999.

DSM builds fourth Dyneema production line
DSM High Performance Fibers, the producer of Dyneema superstrong polyethylene fibre, is going to expand its production capacity by building its fourth production line. The 600-tonne/year facility will be located at the existing Dyneema production plant in Heerlen (Netherlands). DSM is making this investment on top of a debottlenecking operation in its current three production lines, which will boost annual capacity by 400 tonnes in 2001.

Monday February 5 2001
DSM finalised the acquisition of US Catalytica
DSM, the Dutch chemicals group, finalised the acquisition of US pharmaceuticals company Catalytica at the end of December. This takeover should pave the way for DSM to become a developer and manufacturer of medicines and a packager for pharmaceuticals companies. DSM still has a long way to go but the timing is right as pharmaceuticals companies are clearly moving in the direction of outsourcing several activities except for research and marketing.

Friday January 19 2001
Third DSM Desotech plant in three years
DSM Desotech. is expanding its operations with a new manufacturing facility in Stanley, North Carolina. The facility is to be located in an existing building purchased by DSM Desotech. Scheduled to begin operations in January 2002, the roughly EUR 35 mln investment marks the third new production facility for DSM Desotech in three years, following the 1999 opening of a plant in Hoek van Holland, the Netherlands, and the construction of a new facility in Tsukuba, Japan, in 2000.

Quadrant Holding acquires DSM Engineering Plastic Products
Quadrant Holding (Zrich, Switzerland) and DSM N.V. (Heerlen, The Netherlands) have reached agreement on the takeover of DSM's Engineering Plastic Products (EPP) business group with the effective date of 1 January 2001. DSM Engineering Plastic Products, which manufactures engineering plastic stock shapes and finished products for a variety of industrial markets, has operations in 16 countries and employs 1,085 people.

Wednesday January 10 2001
DSM and BP announce research collaboration
BP and DSM announced on Wednesday that they are working together to develop state of the art tools and techniques to accelerate the development of new catalyst formulations for polyolefins. BP and DSM are collaborating with a number of technology partners and suppliers to develop high throughput experimentation (HTE) for polyolefins, a family of plastics which includes polyethylene and polypropylene.

Friday December 22 2000
Evergreen Nylon Recycler winner
The Plastics Recycling Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) has named Evergreen Nylon Recycling, the world's largest commercial nylon recycling venture, 'the Recycler of the Year'. The award was presented at the society's Annual Recycling Conference in Dearborn, Michigan. Evergreen Nylon Recycling, a joint venture of DSM Chemicals North America.

New DSM business group: DSM Pretochemicals
With effect from 1 January 2001 DSM will merge its DSM Polyethylenes, DSM Polypropylenes and DSM Hydrocarbons business groups into a single business group, DSM Petrochemicals. The new business group will employ about 2200 people at production sites in Geleen (Netherlands) and Gelsenkirchen (Germany).

Monday December 18 2000
DSM: Acquisition of Catalytica Pharmaceuticals completed
DSM's acquisition of Catalytica Pharmaceuticals (Mountain View, CA, USA) is a fact. On 11 December Catalytica's shareholders approved the deal, and over the past few days the final details of the acquisition procedure were settled. The acquisition values Catalytica Pharmaceuticals at USD 800 mln (approx.

Thursday December 7 2000
Dutch chemical sector sales soars
Dutch chemical sector sales in 2000 are expected to rise by 18% from last year to a record level of EUR 32 bn (USD 28.67 bn), the Association of the Dutch Chemical Industry (VNCI) said on Thursday. That increase is a result of a 6% rise in output levels and an 11% hike in sales prices, VNCI said in a statement.

Thursday November 23 2000
DSM: Price best financial annual report 1999
The price for the best financial annual report 1999 - given out by the Dutch Minister Zalm - was received with thanks by L. Ligthart, member of the managing board of directors of DSM.

Wednesday November 22 2000
Stamicarbon (DSM) licenses technology for LDPE plant in Turkey
Stamicarbon, the licensing subsidiary of DSM, has concluded a license agreement with Petkim, a Turkish chemicals company, for the transfer of state-of-the-art low-density polyethylene (LDPE) technology. Petkim has selected DSM's 'Clean Tubular Reactor Technology' for its petrochemicals complex on its main site in Aliaga, Turkey.

Thursday November 16 2000
DSM invests EUR 100 mln in new rubber plant in Geleen
DSM Elastomers will invest about EUR 100 mln in a new plant for the production of EPDM rubber (Keltanİ) at its site in Geleen (The Netherlands) with a capacity of 80,000 tons per annum. The plant is to come on stream in the second half of 2002. Detailed engineering is nearing completion, and construction is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2001.

Tuesday November 14 2000
DSM to invest EUR 90 mln in new Dutch melanine plant
DSM said its unit DSM Melamine is to invest EUR 90 mln in a new melamine plant with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes per annum and room for expansion at its existing production site at Geleen, the Netherlands. Part of this sum will be used to expand the production capacity of urea, a raw material of melamine, at the site.

Tuesday October 31 2000
Q3 2000 results of DSM
DSM's net result from ordinary activities for the third quarter of 2000 was EUR 153 mln, up 46% on Q3 1999 (EUR 105 mln). Net earnings (excluding extraordinary result) per ordinary share amounted to EUR 1.53, which is 47% higher than in the third quarter of 1999 (EUR 1.04). Net sales in the third quarter of 2000 amounted to EUR 2.0 bn, an increase of 28% compared with the third quarter of 1999.

Wednesday October 11 2000
Ticona and DSM announce plans to expand PBT feasibility study
Ticona, the technical polymers business of Celanese, Frankfurt, and DSM Engineering Plastics of Sittard, the Netherlands on Wednesday agreed to expand their previously announced PBT production JV feasibility analysis into a global study. The original Memorandum of Agreement that was signed by the two companies in early May called only for examining a world-scale joint venture production facility in Europe for continuous polymerization of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) polymer.

Thursday September 28 2000
DSM to become specialty company
By 2005 DSM wants to secure a place among the world's leading specialty companies, characterized by high added value, strong growth and stable results. To this end, DSM will transform itself into a company specializing in (bio)chemical specialties and performance materials. DSM's strategy for the coming years - "Vision 2005: Focus and Value" - will be to concentrate on securing leading global positions in activities that offer higher added value and are less sensitive to economic cycles.

Tuesday September 19 2000
Price increase Akulon 6 and 66
DSM will increase its European Akulon 6 and Akulon 66 (polyamide) prices as from october 1st by 150 EURO/ton. The main reasons for this are the continuous increases of various raw material prices. Previous price increases were not sufficient to compensate earlier raw material price increases. Demand for polyamide is strong in 2000 leading to high utilization rates.

Monday September 11 2000
DSM acquisitions has contaminated sites
Three industrial sites of Catalytica Pharmaceuticals in the US have been found to be heavily contaminated, according to Dutch weekly FEM De Dag, which uncovered the facts from a Securities and Exchange Commission report. The sites affected are in California, Michigan and North Carolina. DSM is about to acquire Catalytica for USD 800 mln, which industry experts have found suspiciously low.

Thursday August 24 2000
Catalytica shareholders oppose DSM takeover
Two shareholders of Catalytica Pharmaceuticals, a unit of Catalytica, have filed a lawsuit opposing the planned acquisition by DSM of the US company as they feel the premium DSM will pay is too low, Limburgs Dagblad reported. The paper cited Alan and Ronni Sims as saying the USD 800 mln offer is only a few percent over Catalytica's market value, and they accuse Catalytica management of neglecting shareholders' interests.

Tuesday August 22 2000
DSM unit to join B2B online marketplace
DSM unit DSM Engineering Plastics said it intends to join Omnexus, an independent, business-to-business e-marketplace focused on the plastics injection molding industry. DSM Engineering Plastics will join Omnexus as a "leadership supplier", taking an equity stake. The site is expected to go online in the US this autumn, in the first quarter of 2001 in Europe, and Asia and the rest of the world in the middle of 2001.

Wednesday August 16 2000
DSM joins online marketplace Elemica
DSM announced it signed an agreement in principle to participate in Elemica, a global online business-to-business marketplace for contract buying and selling of base chemicals, intermediates, specialty chemicals and fine chemicals. Other participants in Elemica, which expects to be operational by December, include Bayer, BASF, Dow Chemical Co and Ciba Specialty Chemicals Holding.

Thursday August 3 2000
DSM acquires Catalytica's unit
DSM announced on Thursday the acquisition of US Catalytica's pharmaceuticals unit for USD 750 mln. DSM has offered USD 750 mln plus the assumption of about USD 50 mln in debt to acquire the Catalytica unit. Goodwill of some USD 500 mln would be amortised over 20 years. DSM said it planned to finance the deal, which has already been backed by 32% of Catalytica's voting shareholders, through short term loans and probably by issing bonds.

Tuesday August 1 2000
DSM posts record Q2
DSM impressed investors on Tuesday with a 66% rise in second-quarter net profits and the promise of a record full-year result. Net profits for the quarter rose to EUR 169 mln (USD 156.5 mln) from EUR 102 mln a year ago. Profits from ordinary operations rose to EUR 170 mln from EUR 85 mln in the year-ago period, beating analysts' forecasts of between EUR 122 mln and EUR 149 mln.

Tuesday July 4 2000
DSM online
DSM will publish on the internet any 'unusual occurrences' at its plants. DSM, which currently only informs the local council of such events, made the decision following public anxiety after a leak of fydrocyanic acid last year.

Friday June 23 2000
DSM gas leak under investigation
The public prosecutor's office said on Friday it was launching an investigation into a chemical gas leak at a DSM plant which occurred in October 1999. The incident was caused by a crack in a steel pipe at the 30-year old factory. A factory worker who lost consiousness was the only casualty.

Wednesday June 7 2000
New business director for DSM Somos
DSM Desotech on Wednesday announced that James (Jim) A. Reitz has been named director of its solid imaging resins business, DSM Somosİ (www.dsmsomos.com), based in Wilmington, DE. A graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in chemistry, Reitz brings more than 20 years of polymer application development experience to his new position, including 10 years of management within the global DSM chemicals and materials group.

Tuesday June 6 2000
DSM in court over molasses leak
DSM Gist has been ordered to appear in court on Friday in The Hague following last summer's molasses leak in Delft. The leak killed thousands of fish and polluted the water supply. DSM Gist is accused of severely neglecting its storage tanks, which had rusted to 0.55 millimetres in places.

Thursday May 11 2000
DSM to study Japanese market with partner
DSM Biologics, a joint venture between DSM Fine Chemicals and Canada's SGF, said it and Japan's Asahi Glass Co agreed to explore the Japanese market together for innovative biopharmaceuticals and demand for contract manufacturing. DSM said the companies may expand their partnership depending on the outcome of the study. During the study, Asahi Glass will be DSM Biologics' exclusive representative in Japan.

Tuesday May 2 2000
DSM Q1 net profit up 69%
DSM reported on Tuesday net profit for the first-quarter of 2000 increased 69% to EUR 138 mln, compared with net profit of EUR 82 mln the company booked in the comparible period of 1999. Turnover increased 33% from EUR 1,476 mln to EUR 1,970 mln. Operating income increased 78% from EUR 112 mln to EUR 199 mln.

DSM has difficulties with high takeover prices
Louis Ligthart, DSM member of the board of directors, said the company has difficulties pursuing its acquisition strategy due to high takeover prices. "With the current (high) takeover prices, one wonders what (value) will be left after an acquisition", Ligthart said during a press conference call on the company's first-quarter results.

Wednesday February 23 2000
DSM sees online sales boom
DSM expects to generate EUR 4 bn in sales, at least half its total, and make all purchases through the internet within three years, increasing sales substantially and reducing costs. The group also said on Wednesday that it planned to make acquisitions this year and had a shortlist of targets, mainly in the US, where it aims to increase exposure to life sciences, its best-performing division.

DSM net profit down 11%
DSM reported on Wednesday net profit for 1999 decreased 11% to EUR 371.0 mln, compared with net profit of EUR 414.8 mln the company booked in the comparible period of 1998. Turnover decreased 0% from EUR 6,361.1 mln to EUR 6,333.0 mln. Operating income decreased 5% from EUR 585.4 mln to EUR 554.0 mln. Earnings per share for 1999 decreased 9% to EUR 3.63, compared with earnings per share of EUR 4.00 for 1998.

Thursday February 10 2000
DSM picks ChemConnect for internet trading
DSM said on Thursday it had selected US group ChemConnect as its preferred third party exchange for Internet-based trading of industrial chemicals and base polymers. ChemConnect is the world's largest global Internet platform for chemicals and plastics trading. DSM said it had made an equity investment in the US group by becoming a Charter Member but did not elaborate.

Wednesday February 9 2000
DSM builds new plant in Japan
DSM said on Wednesday that Japan Fine Coatings, a 50/50 joint venture between DSM Desotech and Tokyo-based JSR, has started work on the construction of a new plant for the manufacture of high-performance UV-curable materials in Tsukuba (Japan). A decision to build the new plant was taken two years ago but the construction work was postponed because of the Asia crisis, DSM said.

Tuesday February 8 2000
DSM invests in fine-chemicals
DSM said on Tuesday that its unit DSM Fine Chemicals is to invest EUR 50 mln in new multi-purpose facilities at its sites in Linz (Austria) and Venlo (Netherlands) for the production of complex intermediates and active ingredients for the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. DSM said the investment is in line with its strategy aimed at expansion in fine chemicals.

Tuesday February 1 2000
DSM acquires part of Vandemoortele
DSM announced on Tuesday that its unit DSM Bakery Ingredients has reached agreement with the Vandemoortele Group about the acquisition by DSM of part of the bakery ingredients activities of Vamix, a Vandemoortele subsidiary. Vamix specializes in the production and sale of frozen doughs, bread improvers and pastry mixes.

Wednesday January 26 2000
DSM to slash jobs
DSM plans to slash at least 1,000 jobs in its anti-infection division over the next few years as part of a major cost-cutting plan. Citing weak penicillin prices, DSM said Wednesday it will close or move production facilities in Mexico, Peru, Sweden and the Netherlands over the next two to three years.

Tuesday January 4 2000
DSM food unit grows fast
Feike Sijbesma, director of DSM Food Specialties, expects the food ingredients market to double to USD 60 bn within five years, he told Dutch financial daily Het Financieele Dagblad. The DSM unit, which books annual sales of EUR 225 mln, has marked steady growth, mainly due to small acquisitions, Sijbesma told the paper. Sijbesma said that he did not rule out a larger takeover soon to speed up growth.

Thursday December 16 1999
DSM expects to leap ahead
DSM chairman Peter Elverding said in DSM's internal magazine that the company expects to make big, new jumps over the next few years by seeking out new opportunities. Elverding said that turnover will reach about EUR 8 bn in 2002 compared with EUR 6.4 bn in 1998, while earnings per share would grow by EUR 2 to EUR 7. The growth would be achieved through internally generated growth of 6% per year, he said.

Thursday November 18 1999
DSM sells resin compounds business
DSM announced on Thursday that it is selling its compounds activities (DSM Compounds) to Menzolit-Fibron of Germany for an undisclosed sum. There are about 175 employees involved in the transaction. DSM Compounds has annual sales of some EUR 50 mln and has offices in Italy, the UK, Spain, Germany and France.

DSM aims to merge two units
DSM announced on Thursday that it aims to merge DSM Fine Chemicals and DSM Specialty Intermediates into a single business group with effect from 1 January. DSM said the move was in order to utilize the synergy between these groups. The new business group, which will be headquartered in Sittard (Netherlands), will operate under the name of DSM Fine Chemicals. DSM's Works Council has been asked to make a recommendation concerning the proposed merger of the two business groups, DSM said.

Wednesday November 17 1999
DSM sells pharma unit
DSM said yesterday it had sold its pharmaceutical production activities in Regensburg to Haupt Pharma for an undisclosed sum. DSM said the 80 employees would be transferred to Haupt The unit has annual sales of around EUR 5 mln.

Monday November 15 1999
DSM, AlliedSignal open US carpet recycling plant
DSM said on Monday its US joint venture with AlliedSignal had opened the world's first large-scale nylon carpet recycling plant in Augusta, Georgia. The plant, which cost EUR 80 mln (USD 82 mln) to build, will operate under the name of Evergreen Nylon Recycling and will convert 90,000 tonnes of nylon carpet waste annually into the raw material caprolactam, DSM said.

Friday October 29 1999
DSM Q3 net profit up 10%
DSM reported on Friday net profit for the third-quarter of 1999 increased 10% to EUR 106.0 mln, compared with net profit of EUR 96.2 mln the company booked in the comparible period of 1998. Turnover increased 2% from EUR 1,539.2 mln to EUR 1,573.0 mln. Operating income increased 8% from EUR 137.5 mln to EUR 148.0 mln.

Tuesday October 19 1999
DSM opens pilot-plant in Venlo
DSM Fine Chemicals has opened the extension of its pilot-plant in Venlo. The plant is used for the production of newly developed chemical products and active ingredients for medicine, and will also be used for testing new production methods. DSM said the extension was built at a cost of some EUR 11.3 mln.

Thursday September 30 1999
DSM eyes alliances, cuts 1,000 jobs
DSM rose 3.03% on Thursday after saying it was eyeing acquisitions or alliances to double the size of its engineering plastics unit. It also announced plans to trim its worldwide workforce by 1,000. At a conference for financial analysts DSM's new chairman Peter Elverding said the Dutch chemicals company aims to more than double earnings per share by 2002 via acquisitions, a further portfolio shift and organic growth of 6% per year.

Wednesday September 22 1999
DSM announced new appointments
DSM announced on Wednesday that Mr. C.H. (Henk) van Dalen (1952) has been appointed to the Managing Board of the Dutch chemical group DSM N.V. with effect from January 1, 2000. He is currently director of the business group DSM Polyethylenes. Mr. F. (Feike) Sijbesma (1959), currently director of the business group DSM Food Specialties, has been appointed to the DSM Managing Board, with effect from July 1, 2000.

Friday August 13 1999
DSM eyes Lonza of Switzerland
DSM confirmed on Friday that it is interested in taking over Lonza of Switzerland, the chemicals division of aluminium maker Alusuisse. Other candidate buyers include Bayer of Germany, Laporte of the UK, Clariant of Switzerland and several US companies. Alusuisse announced earlier this week it was planning a merger with Pechiney of France and Alcon of Canada.

Thursday July 29 1999
DSM Q2 net profit down 15%
DSM reported on Thursday net profit for the second-quarter of 1999 decreased 15% to EUR 102 mln, compared with net profit of EUR 120 mln the company booked in the comparible period of 1998. Turnover decreased 9% from EUR 1,653 mln to EUR 1,502 mln. Operating income fell 31% from EUR 173 mln to EUR 120 mln.

Monday July 26 1999
DSM sues Degussa-Huls over patent
DSM sued two US-based units of the German company Degussa-Huls for alleged infringement of two patents for a commercial enzyme used in the baking industry. DSM claims it has the patent on DNA-related production methods for bread enzymes. DSM alleged in the lawsuit that Degussa unit Rohm Enzyme has infringed the two patents by importing into the US the bacterial xylanase enzyme, Veron, that is used in the baking industry.

Thursday July 1 1999
DSM sells Nylaflow activities
DSM said on Thursday that its DSM Engineering Plastic Products arm is selling its Nylaflow Europe activities to Parker Hannifin of Cleveland, Ohioa, with immediate effect. Nylaflow Europe, which is based in Almelo, manufacturers and sells thermoplastic pressure hose and tubing for the industrial market. The company has annual sales of around NLG 20 mln and employs 75 people, which will become part of Parker's Polyflex Division-Europe. Financial details were not disclosed.

Thursday June 17 1999
DSM in Chinese joint venture
DSM announced on Thursday that it is setting-up a joint venture with Chinese company ZhangJia Kou Pharmaceutical Corporation (ZPC). The joint venture, in which DSM will hold a 75% stake, will build a plant for the production of 6-APA, an antibiotics intermediat. The project is approved by the Chinese government.

Wednesday June 16 1999
DSM opens sales office in Sao Paulo
DSM has opened a Sales Office in Sao Paulo which is to serve the entire South American market. DSM's sales in South America currently amount to a few hundred million dollars, the company said. The company expects this figure to increase rapidly in the coming years. DSM South America will initially represent four DSM business groups: DSM Engineering Plastics (polyamides and polyesters), DSM Polypropylenes (polypropylene compounds for the automotive segment), DSM Resins (powder coating resins) and DSM Elastomers (thermoplastic elastomers).

Monday June 7 1999
Coberco buys into DSM Bakery
DSM announced on Monday that DSM Bakery Ingredients and Friesland Coberco Dairy Foods have signed a letter of intent for the takeover by Friesland Coberco of part of DSM's pastry activities and for further intensified collaboration via joint ventures. Friesland Coberco aims to take over DSM Bakery Ingredients' commercial activities targeted at the pastry sector in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, with sales of NLG 30 million.

Friday May 7 1999
DSM to sell German Polypenco
DSM said on Friday that it has reached agreement on the sale of its Polypenco Kunststofftechnik. The division has been split into two, with parts going to Polytron Kunststofftechnik, which belongs to Germany's Henderkott. The other half was acquired by Capi Technische Producte of the Italian company Capi. Financial details were not disclosed.

Thursday May 6 1999
DSM buys bakery unit from CSM
DSM is to acquire Spanish bakery Fher Products Basicos para Alimentacion from CSM for an undisclosed sum. Bacelona based Fher has a staff of 20 and has annual turnover of NLG 10 mln. DSM will integrate Fher into the Spanish arm of Gist-Brocades.

Wednesday May 5 1999
DSM, AlliedSignal settle dispute
DSM and U.S. firm AlliedSignal said on Wednesday that they had agreed to settle a two-year-old patent claim on high molecular weight polyethylene fibres. The agreement will allow both companies to market their products worldwide, with the exception of Japan, a DSM spokesman said. He declined to comment on whether the agreement included financial payments between the companies.

Tuesday May 4 1999
DSM buys French wine factory.
DSM has strengthened its position in the market for specialty foods by taking over French wine ingredients producer Laboratoire Oenotechnique from Italy's Della Toffola. Financial details were not disclosed.

Monday May 3 1999
DSM Q1 net profit down 41%
DSM reported on Monday net profit for the first-quarter of 1999 fell 41% to EUR 82 mln, compared with net profit of EUR 139 mln the company booked in the comparible period of 1998. Turnover decreased 15% from EUR 1,740 mln to EUR 1,476 mln. Operating income fell 39% from EUR 184 mln to EUR 112 mln. Earnings per share for the first-quarter of 1999 fell 42% to EUR 2.42, compared with earnings per share of EUR 4.17 for the first-quarter of 1998.

DSM still seeking US pharma acquisition
DSM said on Monday it continued to actively seek a US pharmaceutical operation to bolster its life science division. Any potentional US purchase is not likely to be of the size of the Gist-Brocades buy that DSM made last year, Lithgart said. DSM paid about NLG 2.9 bn for the biotech firm. The company has made bids for some U.S.

Tuesday April 20 1999
DSM and pvc manufacturers fined
DSM and 11 other European pvc producers have been fined by a European court in Luxembourg for striking a deal among themselves to keep prices high, in a case dating back to the early 1980s. DSM was fined EUR 600,000, while other companies such as Elf Atochem faced higher fines. The dispute over the pvc cartel has been brewing for years. The first wave of fines was issued in 1988 after investigations were launched in the 1980s, but they were nullified due to procedural errors.

Tuesday April 6 1999
DSM Desotech buys DuPont unit
DSM Desotech, a subsidiary of DSM, has acquired Somos of New Castle, Delaware from US chemicals concern DuPont. DSM Desotech specialises in fast-hardening coatings for fibre optic cables.

Thursday April 1 1999
DSM to close plant in Germany
DSM said on Thursday its unit DSM Polypropylenes is to close down a polypropylene plant in Gelsenkirchen (Germany) in April. The closure of this 70,000-tpa plant has been made possible by recent capacity hikes at existing polypropylene plants in Geleen (Netherlands) and Gelsenkirchen. The closure of the plant, the modernization and capacity expansion of existing plants and the construction of a new plant are all in keeping with DSM Polypropylenes' strategy of strengthening its position as a leading polypropylene manufacturer on the European market, the company said.

Thursday March 25 1999
DSM and Repsol in marketing joint venture
DSM and Spanish Repsol have signed an agreement to form a 50-50 joint venture in which they will combine their acrylonitrile marketing, sales and trading activities for countries outside the European Union and the European Economic Area. The joint venture, by the name of Companex, will be headquartered in Sittard (Netherlands) and will become operational in April 1999.

Wednesday March 24 1999
DSM must pay for asbestos probe
Maastricht district court ruled yesterday that DSM must prove it took proper steps to combat the danger of working with asbestos between 1950 and 1985. In an interim judgement, the court said DSM must pay for research by independent experts to assess the company's risk management. the ruling stems from a 12-year legal battle against DSM by the widow of a victi of asbestosis.

Thursday February 25 1999
DSM net profit up 5%
DSM reported on Thursday net profit for 1998 increased 5% to NLG 914 mln, compared with net profit of NLG 871 mln the company booked in the comparible period of 1997. Turnover increased 13% from NLG 12,405 mln to NLG 14,018 mln. The turnover increase mainly reflected the acquisition of biotechnology Gist-Brocades.

Tuesday February 16 1999
DSM invests NLG 80 mln in France
DSM is investing NLG 80 mln in its French enzyme factory at Seclin. The aim is to strenghten its Food Specialities division which is the leading enzyme supplier for the food products and cattle market. DSM also announced plans for a 20% stake in a joint venture to build a USD 170 mln polythene factory in Malaysia.

Thursday February 11 1999
DSM invests in enzymes plant
DSM is investing NLG 15 mln in the construction of a new enzymes plant in Delft. The facility is set to come on stream next year and will strengthen DSM's Anti-Infectives business group which already leads the world market for antibiotics.

Friday February 5 1999
DSM sells plastic plants to Bayer
Bayer AG, Leverkusen, Germany and DSM, Heerlen, Netherlands, have reached an agreement under which Bayer will acquire DSM's global Transparent Sheet business, which produces and sells transparent polycarbonate (PC) and polyester (PET) sheet for use in building and construction, communication and industrial markets.

Tuesday February 2 1999
Lower profit DSM
DSM booked sharply lower operating profit in the final quarter of 1998 largely due to the continuing international decline in prices for plastics. The company said provisional fourth-quarter operating profit fell to NLG 200 mln from NLG 252 in the year-earlier period in line with expectations. However, full-year 1998 operating profit was 7% higher at NLG 1.29 bn.

Wednesday January 27 1999
DSM to split-up Resins business group
DSM said on Wednesday that with effect from April 1, 1999, it is to split up the DSM Resins business group into two new business groups (DSM Coating Resins and DSM Industrial Resins & Compounds) and a separate business unit (DSM Radcure Products). Bernard van Schaik has been appointed director of the DSM Coating Resins business group.

Thursday December 3 1998
DSM to get new chairman
Peter Everding, 49, has been named to succeed Simon de Bree as management board chairman of DSM in July.

Monday November 30 1998
DSM invests NLG 250 in new plant
DSM announced on Monday that it will invest some NLG 250 mln in a new plant for the production of 7-ADCA, an element used in the production of antibiotics. The new plant is to become operational in the second-half of 2000.

Friday November 13 1998
DSM in Canadian joint venture
DSM and Canadian firm Societe Generale de Financement du Quebec (SGF) are to form a joint venture to develop biotechnology-based medicines (biologics). The new joint venture will be named DSM Biologics and be based in Montreal with production units in Canada and Groningen. DSM will hold 60% of DSM Biologics, and SGF the remaining 40%. DSM Biologics is part of DSM Fine Chemicals, which is part of DSM's Life Science Product cluster.

Friday October 30 1998
DSM assigned A2 issuer rating by Moody's
DSM said on Friday it had been assigned an A2 issuer rating by Moody's. It is the first time Moody's has assigned a long-term rating to the DSM group, DSM said. DSM said that the A2 rating reflected its increasing skew towards less volatile, higher-growth fine chemicals operations, its leading market position across a wide range of chemicals and its conservative approach to funding acquisitions.

Thursday October 29 1998
DSM Q3 net profit down 1%
DSM reported on Thursday net profit for the third-quarter of 1998 decreased 1% to NLG 212 mln, compared with net profit of NLG 214 mln the company booked in the comparible period of 1997. Turnover increased 10% from NLG 3,071 mln to NLG 3,392 mln. Operating income decreased 1% from NLG 307 mln to NLG 303 mln.

Friday October 23 1998
DSM in US car component deal
DSM is forming an alliance with US company Owens Corning to sell car components made from a new sort of plastic which they have jointly developed. The joint venture will have its sales office in Heerlen and its production in Genk in Belgium.

Monday October 19 1998
DSM weighs sale of ABS factory
DSM is considering selling its ABS plastic production unit. The factory is not performing up to DSM's margin target of 15% of investment. The unit in Geleen employs 250 people and turns over several hunderd million guilders annually. ABS plastic is used for making products such as kitchen equipment, lego pieces and car dashboards.

Tuesday September 29 1998
DSM sets up Russian R&D unit
DSM Research, the Research and Development (R&D) arm of DSM, is to set up a joint research facility in Moscow with Moscow's chemical physics institute. Ten Russion researchers will be employed at the R&D unit initially. DSM said it has high regards for Russian expertise in the fields of polymers and fibres. The facility will concentrate on applications in the space, aviation, shipbuilding and rocket technology sectors.

Monday September 28 1998
DSM to cooperate with Megabios
DSM said on Monday its biotechnology unit DSM Biologics would cooperate with US firm Megabios to produce and market plasmid DNA and lipid DNA complexes for the gene therapy sector. Plasmids are circular pieces of DNA containing a therapeutic gene and instruction elements that regulate the gene's activity.

Friday September 25 1998
DSM sells US unit Nylaflow
DSM said on Friday that it has sold its US subsidiary Nylaflow to Avon Rubber of the UK. DSM said it was selling Nylaflow because it was not a core activity. DSM added that its other plastic activities at its Pennsylvania unit Reading would not be affected. Nylaflow produces and markets thermoplastic hoses for the hydraulic, paint spray and cleaning industries. The company books annual sales of NLG 25 mln.

Thursday September 24 1998
DSM exchanges shares for prefs
DSM will buy back the 2.4 million of the 5.4 million shares it issued to finance the acquisition of Gist-Brocades and will partially replace them with cumulative preference shares. Cumulative preference shares will also be used to finance acquisitions in the future, DSM said. DSM will call an extraordinary shareholders' meeting to approve the measure on 12 November.

Tuesday August 25 1998
DSM, Cambridge Int. in research co-operation
DSM Research, the R&D organisation of DSM, and Cambridge Combinatorial have reached agreement regarding research co-operation in the field of combinatorial chemistry. The co-operation will focus on the use of combinatorial chemistry for the development of catalysts, materials and processes. Combinatorial chemistry is a technology for creating diverse libraries of molecules and testing them rapidly for desired properties.

Thursday July 30 1998
DSM reports Q2 net up 22%
DSM reports net profit for the second quarter of 1998 increased with 22% to NLG 570 mln, compared with NLG 465 mln for the 1997 comparible period. Turnover rose by 22% from NLG 6.2 bn to NLG 7.5 bn. Operating income grew 23% from NLG 642 mln to NLG 787 mln. Earnings per share increased with 17% from NLG 15.40 to NLG 18.03.

Tuesday July 21 1998
DSM sells JPG to British Vita
DSM has sold to British Vita PLC (Manchester, UK) the trade and assets of its UK subsidiary JGP Ltd. (Washington Tyne & Wear, UK). JGP compounds the plastic ABS for the electrical and automotive industries with sales of around GBP 9 mln (1997). The deal between British Vita and DSM includes a long-term supply contract of ABS resin.

Tuesday June 30 1998
DSM wins environmental prize
A research project that aims to find a recycling solution for the plastic parts which are increasingly being used in cars has won the Lillehammer Award, awarded each year by the European Union's research programme for the most innovative environmental project. Participants in the project are DSM, Enichem, Reydel, Fiat and Peugeot/Citroen.

Wednesday June 24 1998
DSM to optimise Emmen plant
DSM said on Wednesday the company is to invest some NLG 200 mln in modernising and expanding its production facility in Emmen for the plastic polymide 6. DSM said the reorganisation is needed for the unit to remain competitive in the international market for polyamides, for which it is to replace a large portion of the machines and to cut 125 of the current 500 jobs.

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