News: United States EPA Honors Viance as Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award Recipient

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 25, 2002) — The United States Environmental Protection Agency today announced its Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award winners for 2002. Viance, based in Charlotte, NC was recognized as an award winner for its industry-leading non-arsenic wood preservative, Alkaline Copper Quaternary (ACQ).

Steve Ainscough, President and CEO, Viance, accepted the award on behalf of Viance, and the entire ACQ product development team at a ceremony held last evening at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C.

"On behalf of the entire Viance family of employees, I would like to thank the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge committee for their recognition of the ACQ technology," said Mr. Ainscough. "The wood preservative industry has experienced tremendous change over the last several months and Viance is proud to play a significant role in the industry's transition to new generation wood preservatives with the development of the ACQ technology."

ACQ wood preservatives are used to manufacture Preserve® and Preserve Plus brand wood products. ACQ has become established as the most widely used new generation wood preservative in the world with projected sales approaching 1 billion board feet of ACQ treated wood in the U.S. in 2002.

"Our market leadership position with ACQ is based on our ongoing commitment to produce advanced preservation technology to meet the changing demands of the industry and the consumer market for treated wood products," said and Dave Fowlie, Vice President, Viance. "Viance is working closely with customers and distributors, as well as specifiers and end users of treated wood products to ensure a smooth transition to the new generation ACQ preservative."

Currently, there are over 500 retail outlets throughout the US that supply Preserve and Preserve Plus treated wood to the consumer and contractor market. Preserve with ACQ is standardized and accepted by the American Wood Preservers Association, the Canadian Standards Association and major building codes throughout North America.

"The ACQ formulation offers equivalent performance against biological hazards, such as decay and termite attack, to traditional preservative formulations that contained arsenic and hexavalent chromium," states Dr. Alan Preston, Vice President of Technology, Viance. "ACQ technology is a significant advancement over previous preservatives containing heavy metal components, and its development has been the result of much dedicated research and development by our scientists and technical support staff in collaboration with many university and institute researchers around the world. The contributions of all those involved in the development of ACQ has led to this recognition by the U.S. EPA." Dr. Preston is conducting a presentation covering the ACQ preservative technology at the GreenChem 2002 Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference on June 25, 2002 in Washington, D.C.

Preserve treated wood is approximately half the cost of cedar, redwood or plastic/composite alternatives, and initially weathers to an attractive natural-brown color before turning gray following long-term exposure to the sun. Preserve is easy to use in any application where decay and termite resistant construction materials are required. It can be stained or painted, and scraps may be disposed of through regular trash collection. Preserve Plus is also available with built-in water repellent to enhance the weathering properties of the treated wood.

The ACQ formulation has gained wide spread international acceptance with its use in the U.S., Europe, Japan, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. For more than a decade, Preserve treated wood has been used in some of the world's most environmentally sensitive locations. From the pristine environments of national parks and world heritage listed locations in North America, Europe, Japan and Australia, to neighborhood playgrounds and backyards, Preserve treated wood has been used to provide a durable building product for outdoor projects where environmental values are a priority.

Viance (Charlotte, NC) is an international supplier of preservative formulations and processing technologies for the wood treatment industry, including timber preservatives, water repellants, fire retardants and mold inhibitors that enhance wood performance. For more information on ACQ and other wood protection technologies available from Viance, please visit www.treatedwood.com.