ICIS Chemical Business Reveals Top 100 Chemical Distributors

NEW YORK and LONDON, October 11, 2010 - ICIS Chemical Business magazine has revealed the ICIS Top 100 Chemical
Distributors, with rankings based on 2009 sales.

"We are very pleased to introduce the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Distributors
- a listing of the world's leading companies serving buyers of chemicals,"
said Joseph Chang, Global Editor of ICIS Chemical Business.

At the top of the list is Germany's Brenntag, with EUR6.4bn ($9.2bn) in
2009 sales, followed by US-based companies Univar with $7.2bn and Ashland
Distribution with $3.0bn.

The ICIS Top 100 Chemical Distributors is a global listing, including
leaders in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
However, regional leaders for North America, Europe and Latin America are
broken out as well.

Local currencies were converted to US dollars based on exchange rates on
December 31, 2009.

In Latin America, Brazil's QuantiQ led with $389m in sales, followed by
Brazil's M. Cassab with $328m and Mexico's Grupo Pochteca with $191m. In the
Middle East and Africa, we had South Africa's Protea Chemicals with $608m in
sales and Saudi Arabia's REDA Chemicals with $233m.

"The global distribution landscape is an incredibly diverse and populous
one, with numerous public but mostly privately held companies. While both
large and small companies struggle with global and local regulatory issues,
the long-term future for this vital component in the supply chain is bright,"
said Chang.

"We give special thanks to the US-based National Association of Chemical
Distributors (NACD) and its president, Chris Jahn, for prompting us to take
up this ambitious endeavor, as well as the European Association of Chemical
Distributors (FECC) and its new president Edgar Nordmann, and Brazil's
Association of Chemical and Petrochemical Distributors (Associquim) and its
president Rubens Medrano for their support," he added.

For spotting the top European players, Switzerland-based chemical
distribution consultancy DistriConsult and its senior and lead partner
Guenther Eberhard and founding partner Marc Fermont provided their expertise.

The ICIS Top 100 Chemical Distributors ranking is available for download
at www.icis.com/top100Distributors

In addition, a PDF of the ICIS Top 100 Chemical Companies is available
for download at www.icis.com/Top100

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    For media inquiries, contact:
    Joseph Chang
    Global Editor
    ICIS Chemical Business
    +1-212-791-4224
    joseph.chang@icis.com

    www.icis.com/magazine
    www.icis.com

    Will Beacham
    Deputy Editor, London Bureau Chief
    ICIS Chemical Business
    T: +44-20-8652-8683
    will.beacham@icis.com

For media inquiries, contact: Joseph Chang, Global Editor, ICIS Chemical Business, +1-212-791-4224, joseph.chang at icis.com; Will Beacham, Deputy Editor, London Bureau Chief, ICIS Chemical Business, T: +44-20-8652-8683, will.beacham at icis.com