Formula One: Environmentally Advanced Technology used on the Interlagos Racetrack

Formula One, the highest class of auto racing in the world, is a focus point for new technology, bringing about environmentally advanced innovations that improve vehicle performance and promote driver safety. Few people realize that Formula One racetracks are laboratories in themselves, where new products are tested before these products reach society as a whole. Such has been the case of the traffic marking paint coating the asphalt of the Interlagos track, on which the 2008 Formula One season final will take place Sunday, November 2. This traffic marking paint employs FastrackTM technology belonging to global specialty materials leader Rohm and Haas (NYSE:ROH).

This is the only waterborne paint used for this purpose in the Brazilian market and the product endures the harshest conditions while also meeting the sustainability and preservation requirements of the areas in which it is applied.

“The environmentally advanced waterborne technology currently used in traffic marking paints is one of the fastest growing technologies in the market. This is not just because of its cost-effectiveness, but also because of the environmental plusses it offers to those who use it,” says Rohm and Haas Brazil president José Fernandes. At present, close to 70% of Brazil’s privately owned roads benefit from this technology. “It’s no coincidence that Brazil’s private roads offer the best driving conditions for motorists,” Fernandes points out.

With a service life of close to two years, waterborne traffic signaling paint has an average annual cost of US$4.30 per square meter – which is 27% less than that of the solvent-based paints commonly used on public roads. “Government officials have started paying attention to long-term benefits and this is a promising market for growth in coming years,” says César Soto, Rohm and Haas marketing manager for Paint and Coating Materials in Latin America.

Rohm and Haas traffic marking paint can be found on roads administered by Ecovias, CCR, and Autoban, as well as on “green roads” that rely on products that are non-aggressive to the environment. Such roads include the MS-61 and MS-62 highways in the tropical wetlands of the Pantanal as well as the Rodovia das Cataratas (“Highway of the Waterfalls”) in Foz do Iguaçu.

For more information, visit us @ go.rohmhaas.com/fastrackHD21A

About Rohm and Haas Company

Leading the way since 1909, Rohm and Haas is a global pioneer in the creation and development of innovative technologies and solutions for the specialty materials industry. The company’s technologies are found in a wide range of industries including: Building and Construction, Electronics and Electronic Devices, Household Goods and Personal Care, Packaging and Paper, Transportation, Pharmaceutical and Medical, Water, Food and Food Related, and Industrial Process. Innovative Rohm and Haas technologies and solutions help to improve life every day, around the world. Based in Philadelphia, PA, the company generated annual sales of approximately $8.9 billion in 2007. Visit www.rohmhaas.com for more information. imagine the possibilities™

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