COLUMBIA, Md., Feb. 19, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA), a global leader in specialty silica, has begun construction of a new colloidal silica plant at its European flagship manufacturing and R&D center in Worms, Germany. This investment will support growing demand and increasing technical requirements of customers. It will broaden Grace’s technology platforms, significantly increase capacity for Grace’s LUDOX^® portfolio of colloidal silica products, and add flexibility to the company’s global manufacturing network. The expansion is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2020.

The new LUDOX^® colloidal silica plant will:

• Accelerate the development of new LUDOX^® colloidal silica applications into a wide spectrum of industrial applications including catalysts, functional coatings, and precision investment casting;
• Support increasing demand in this high growth, high value specialty silica segment; and
• Improve alternative sourcing and logistics capabilities to better serve customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

The LUDOX^® brand is recognized around the world as a market-leading colloidal silica technology. Cited in over 25,000 patents, LUDOX^® colloidal silica is one of the most versatile and functional silica-based technologies available.

“We are seeing very strong demand for LUDOX^® colloidal silica, and most important, we are helping many customers develop entirely new products and markets,” said Sandra Wisniewski, President, Grace Materials Technologies. “Grace is strategically investing to increase capacity for a variety of products. This new manufacturing facility will allow us to better serve both existing and new customers with differentiated silica technologies that deliver value to accelerate commercialization of their new products.”

Decades of institutional expertise in colloidal technology and unparalleled technical support have earned LUDOX^® colloidal silica a reputation for tightly-controlled specifications and reliable, consistent quality making it the preferred brand for high-performance applications. Grace R&D, process technology, and manufacturing teams often tailor the LUDOX^® colloidal silica technology to meet specific customer performance requirements.

Grace’s Worms, Germany R&D and manufacturing facility opened in 1972 and has since become a center of manufacturing excellence for silica as well as catalyst and adsorbent technologies.

About Grace

Built on talent, technology, and trust, Grace is a leading global supplier of catalysts and engineered materials. The company’s two industry-leading business segments—Catalysts Technologies and Materials Technologies—provide innovative products, technologies, and services that enhance the products and processes of our customers around the world. With approximately 3,900 employees, Grace operates and/or sells to customers in over 70 countries. More information about Grace is available at grace.com.

This announcement contains forward-looking statements, that is, information related to future, not past, events. Such statements generally include the words “believes,” “plans,” “intends,” “targets,” “will,” “expects,” “suggests,” “anticipates,” “outlook,” “continues,” or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, expected financial positions; results of operations; cash flows; financing plans; business strategy; operating plans; capital and other expenditures; competitive positions; growth opportunities for existing products; benefits from new technology and cost reduction initiatives, plans and objectives; and markets for securities. For these statements, Grace claims the protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act. Like other businesses, Grace is subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause its actual results to differ materially from its projections or that could cause other forward-looking statements to prove incorrect. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements include, without limitation: risks related to foreign operations, especially in emerging regions; the costs and availability of raw materials, energy and transportation; the effectiveness of its research and development and growth investments; acquisitions and divestitures of assets and businesses; developments affecting Grace’s outstanding indebtedness; developments affecting Grace's pension obligations; its legal and environmental proceedings; environmental compliance costs; the inability to establish or maintain certain business relationships; the inability to hire or retain key personnel; natural disasters such as storms and floods, and force majeure events; changes in tax laws and regulations; international trade disputes, tariffs, and sanctions; the potential effects of cyberattacks; and those additional factors set forth in Grace's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and are readily available on the internet at www.sec.gov. Reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on Grace's projections and forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the dates those projections and statements are made. Grace undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revision to the projections and forward-looking statements contained in this announcement, or to update them to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this announcement.