Grace Celebrates Opening of Australian Facility

W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA) is celebrating the official grand opening of a new facility in Epping, Australia. Employees at this location support construction customers in Australia, New Zealand and the surrounding Pacific Islands with manufacturing operations, research and development activities and technical services.

The products produced onsite include concrete admixtures used in commercial, institutional and residential construction, and additives used in cement processing to improve energy efficiency and enhance the characteristics of the finished product.

The site also houses corporate administrative functions, such as human resources, information technology and finance, and warehousing for Grace’s Materials Technologies product group. The facility is in line with Grace’s business strategy to invest around the world and improve efficiencies among Grace’s businesses.

Attending a ceremonial ribbon cutting today are members of the company’s leadership team, including Grace’s Chairman, President and CEO Fred Festa and key customers.

The facility is expected to enhance communications and productivity by bringing employees together that had previously been located at separate offices within the same city. The laboratory areas have state-of-the-art equipment that removes manual-intensive processes. Overall, the facility has an enhanced layout that improves access, product quality and inventory controls.

Andrew Bonham, President, Grace Construction Products, remarked, “This facility incorporates best practices learned at other Grace sites and affords us several opportunities. We are now better situated to meet the needs of our customers with a significant local resource that translates to improved processes, greater ability for joint work and enhanced safety.”

Shane Jenner, General Manager – Australia & New Zealand, Grace Construction Products, said, “In opening this facility, we are not only positioned for today’s business needs but have the ability to expand our technical capabilities for greater testing and to run extended manufacturing production, up to 24 hours a day, to meet customer and industry needs.”

Epping is a suburb of Melbourne. The address is: Grace Australia Pty. Ltd., 40 Scanlon Drive, Epping, Victoria 3076, Australia. The phone number is +61 3.8401.6300.

This site is the second in less than a year to be opened in Australia. In 2009, Grace opened a facility in Rowville that supports pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers with chromatography products that are frequently used in drug discovery and development applications.

In addition to these newest locations, Grace has additional offices in several other Australian cities, including Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Sydney. Grace operates in the country primarily through Grace Australia Pty. Ltd., a subsidiary that was founded in 1997.

Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and other products to petroleum refiners; catalysts for the manufacture of plastics; silica-based engineered and specialty materials for a wide range of industrial applications; sealants and coatings for food and beverage packaging, and specialty chemicals, additives and building materials for commercial and residential construction. Founded in 1854, Grace has operations in over 40 countries. For more information, visit Grace’s web site at www.grace.com.