BEKAERT SIGNS EXCLUSIVE SUPPLY AGREEMENT
WITH DUPONT iTECHNOLOGIES FOR FLEX CIRCUIT MATERIALS

"Bekaert Corporation", a 100 % Bekaert subsidiary based at Akron (Ohio, USA) today announced that it has signed a 10-year exclusive supply agreement with "DuPont iTechnologies" (Wilmington, Delaware, USA) for thin metal flexible circuit materials for use in high density circuits and semiconductor applications. Estimated Bekaert revenues will total more than USD100 million over the life of the agreement.

The supply agreement complements an existing alliance that was announced in March last year for the development and supply of thin metal flexible circuit materials. DuPont will sell a family of these thin metal products under its trade names Pyralux® and Microlux® .

The two companies have co-operated since 1998 to develop the products and process technology, based exclusively on DuPont Kapton® polyimide film, a high temperature resistant polymer, and have jointly invested in a manufacturing facility at Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, operating under the name "Bekaert Flex Circuit Venture (BFCV)".

Dirk Lievens, general manager Bekaert Flex Circuit Venture, commented: "Bekaert has been very pleased with the global research, marketing and distribution programmes DuPont has put in place to support this alliance. Bekaert´s objective is to enable the alliance to efficiently focus on new product developments to meet customer needs, particularly for high growth end use applications such as portable devices, high-density disk drives, portable computers and displays."

Michael Green, business manager - DuPont High Performance Materials, observed: "This alliance is a good fit for our two companies and has been effective in supporting DuPont iTechnologies´ strategy to quickly respond to the global market demand for high density circuit materials. DuPont is a leader in polymer science and Bekaert has a pool of proprietary technologies in advanced materials, so the potential synergies are evident. Our first year of commercial operation has been a success. We expect to continue on a rapid growth track by continually developing and introducing new products."

Guy Haemers, Vice President Business Development for Bekaert adds: "This alliance has forged strong relationships between Bekaert and DuPont iTechnologies. As a result, other joint opportunities for creating innovative products in the fields of solar cells, the graphical industry, displays and electronic components are now under study."

DuPont iTechnologies (www.dupont.com/dupontitechnologies) consists of five business units dedicated to the information technology industry, including displays, photoresists, high performance and microcircuit materials, and proofing and packaging graphics products. DuPont is a science company, delivering science-based solutions that make a difference in people´s lives in food and nutrition; health care; apparel; home and construction; electronics; and transportation. Founded in 1802, the company operates in 70 countries and has 94,000 employees.

Bekaert (www.bekaert.com) is a technology driven Group, having its headquarters in Belgium, and producing and marketing a great variety of products based on metal transformation and a large variety of coating technologies. Its current activities are built around four Business Units; Steel Wire, Merchant Products, Steel Cord and Bekaert Advanced Materials (BAM). Bekaert has recently declared its objective to triple turnover of its rapidly growing BAM Division within three years. Total turnover of the Bekaert Group in 1999 was EUR 2.5 billion. Founded in 1880, the company operates in 70 countries and has 16,500 employees.

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