W R Grace : Jan van Egmond, Clark Williams Win Grace Award for Technical Excellence

COLUMBIA, Md. - May 18, 2017 - W. R. Grace & Co. announces that Clark Williams, Ph.D. and Jan van Egmond, Ph.D. have won the Grace Award for Technical Excellence (GATE) for the development and commercialization of CONSISTA®, the world's first 6th Generation non-phthalate catalyst and donors for the production of polypropylene (PP).

Introduced by Grace Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Fred Festa and the Grace Research Council in 2007, GATE recognizes employees for technical achievement of the highest caliber that has resulted in the most significant commercial, societal, and industrial impact.

'The technical work performed by Clark and Jan has contributed extraordinary value to Grace customers around the world,' said Demetrius Michos, Senior Principal Scientist, Grace Materials Technologies and 2016 GATE Selection Committee Co-Chair.

Fellow co-chair Jack Coalter, Senior R&D Manager, Specialty Catalysts, said, 'In over 60 years of PP catalysis, only a handful of catalyst generations have been developed. CONSISTA® represents the most advanced to date, and its development required resolution of many significant technical challenges. Clark's and Jan's leadership and expertise made this breakthrough possible.'

The novel non-phthalate internal donor for CONSISTA® Catalyst technology arose from a larger high-throughput synthesis effort. Williams led the team that efficiently scaled up and commercialized the expanded application of this product in only three years.

For the CONSISTA® Process Technology platform, van Egmond led the team that successfully developed custom external donors systems for the three new CONSISTA® catalyst offerings. He also developed process conditions for over 200 PP grades used with the UNIPOL® PP Process Technology.

Williams and van Egmond are inventors or co-inventors on seven patents granted to Grace for the CONSISTA® Catalysts, advances in the methods of running these catalysts in the UNIPOL® PP Process, and for the novel PP products produced.

Van Egmond directs the Process and Automation R&D Group for Grace's Specialty Catalysts business in Charleston, WV. Patents developed during his 25-year career include the original ADT external donors for SHAC® catalysts, process optimizations of CONSISTA® catalysts, and recent work on external donors that both extend CONSISTA® catalyst lifetime and reduce volatile organic compounds in polypropylene.

Van Egmond holds a B.S. degree from the University of Natal, South Africa, M.S. degree from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. from Stanford, all in Chemical Engineering.

Williams leads the company's efforts to develop 6th Generation catalyst offerings. Over the past 27 years, he has worked in gas phase PE process development and PP process R&D, supporting the implementation of advanced SHAC® 320/D-donor products, as well as many low-fines carrier and catalyst efforts for liquid loop applications. His patents for the CONSISTA® platform include catalyst formulation improvement and internal donor manufacture.

Williams holds a B.S. degree from Brigham Young University and M.S and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, all in Chemical Engineering.

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 customer partners around the world. With approximately 3,700 employees, Grace operates and/or sells to customers in over 60 countries. More information about Grace is available at grace.com.

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Rich Badmington
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Greg Ten Eyck
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