Grace Named Honoree for Green Invention Award

Grace Construction Products, an operating segment of W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE:GRA), has been named an Honoree for Green Invention by the Boston Business Journal. The award was presented to Grace for its partnership with Ceratech Inc. that has yielded advancements to help the worldwide construction industry reduce its energy usage and carbon dioxide emissions.

Ceratech, a Maryland-based firm, has developed green sustainable admixture technologies for formulating environmentally friendly, high performance, fast setting concrete using fly ash, a waste stream product from coal fired power plants. Grace strategically invested in Ceratech in 2008 and obtained the exclusive right to market these products and technologies for use in manufactured concrete.

Currently, most construction facilities use the Portland cement production process that is energy intensive. For every ton of Portland cement manufactured, approximately 1 ton of CO2 is released to the atmosphere through emissions from fossil fuel plants. Worldwide the production of Portland cement alone accounts for 6-8% of human generated CO2, making it critical to find alternate methods of manufacture.

“Ceratech and Grace have worked separately for years to create alternate methods for manufacturing concrete, and in 2008 we joined forces. Our R&D departments have sped up the development of technology that enables the production of environmentally friendly, high performance concrete through the addition of different concrete admixtures,” said Marc Zacharias, Director of Construction Services, Grace Construction Products – Americas. “Products used in this new manufacturing process are made up of 30% to 95% green sustainable industrial waste stream materials and are manufactured through a low energy, powder blending process.”

The Green Invention award honors a new product, policy or program created by an individual or organization that exhibits measurable, significant environmental benefits. Only three companies were named as honorees in this category. Grace Construction Products was formally acknowledged at the Boston Business Journal’s Green Business Summit.

Grace Construction Products was also recently honored for its Cambridge location by the American Chemistry Council with the Responsible Care® Energy Efficiency Award and by the American Heart Association with the Fit Friendly Award. For more information on these awards, log on to http://www.grace.com/Media/MediaKit/Awards.aspx.

Grace Construction Products is a world-leading provider of technically superior concrete admixtures, fibers, surface treatments and liquid pigments that make concrete stronger, longer lasting, crack resistant, aesthetically pleasing and cost efficient. The company also manufactures additives for cement processing, fire protection, fire stops, waterproofing and masonry products, and has more than 125 plants and sales offices around the world. For more information about Grace Construction Products, visit www.graceconstruction.com.

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. With annual sales of more than $3 billion, Grace has about 6,200 employees and operations in over 40 countries. For more information, visit Grace's web site at www.grace.com.