A. Schulman Signs Agreement With nanoScience Engineering Corporation To Develop and Market Nanotechnology-Enhanced Polymer Products

AKRON, Ohio, March 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — A. Schulman, Inc. (Nasdaq: SHLM) and nanoScience Engineering Corporation (nanoSEC) announced today that they have entered into a joint development agreement for the purpose of incorporating nanoSEC’s nanocomposites in various polymer products produced by A. Schulman.

“We are excited by this opportunity to partner with one of the most innovative developers of advanced nanomaterials,” said Paul Boulier, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of A. Schulman. “The agreement combines nanoSEC’s proprietary technologies with A. Schulman’s expertise in the formulation and production of plastic compounds, which will allow us to develop new products to serve a wide range of customer needs. We expect this partnership to accelerate the development of advanced, high-performance materials through our innovation pipeline.” A. Schulman’s technical teams in Europe and the Americas are currently assessing nanotechnology-based products for use in durable goods used in hand tools and transportation applications as well as high-performance agricultural and packaging films.

David Burnett, President of nanoScience Engineering Corporation, stated, “The management group at nanoSEC is very excited about demonstrating the capabilities of nanocomposites developed through our proprietary technology. Further, we are confident that a combination of the technology and the products supplied by A. Schulman will deliver a superior product and improved value to the marketplace.”

The agreement enables A. Schulman and nanoSEC to develop new products and applications for nanocomposites, which are created by introducing very narrow (nano) particles into a matrix of standard material such as a polymer, resulting in dramatic improvements in selected properties. nanoSEC’s technology is specifically designed to improve barrier properties, increase strength, and improve heat and flame resistance of polymers.

About A. Schulman, Inc.

Headquartered in Akron, Ohio, A. Schulman is a leading international supplier of high-performance plastic compounds and resins. These materials are used in a variety of consumer, industrial, automotive and packaging applications. The Company employs about 2,200 people and has 16 manufacturing facilities in North America and Europe (including Asia). Revenues for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2008, were $1.98 billion. Additional information about A. Schulman can be found at www.aschulman.com.

About nanoScience Engineering Corporation

nanoScience Engineering Corporation was formed in 2004 from a research collaboration between a group of internationally renowned professors and scientists at Wayne State University in Detroit and seasoned executives with expertise in the materials and automotive industries. The company and university maintain a joint research partnership. nanoSEC’s mission is to manufacture world-class advanced nano-scale fillers for enhancing the physical properties of nanocomposites to achieve superior performance results at less overall cost. nanoSEC has its headquarters in West Bloomfield, Michigan, and a laboratory nearing completion in Westland, Michigan.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. These statements can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historic or current facts. They use such words as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of future operating or financial performance. These forward-looking statements are based on currently available information, but are subject to a variety of uncertainties, unknown risks and other factors concerning the Company’s operations and business environment, which are difficult to predict and are beyond the control of the Company. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those suggested by these forward-looking statements, and that could adversely affect the Company’s future financial performance, include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Worldwide and regional economic, business and political conditions, including continuing economic uncertainties in some or all of the Company’s major product markets;
• Fluctuations in the value of currencies in major areas where the Company operates, including the U.S. dollar, euro, U.K. pound sterling, Canadian dollar, Mexican peso, Chinese yuan and Indonesian rupiah;
• Fluctuations in the prices of sources of energy or plastic resins and other raw materials;
• Changes in customer demand and requirements;
• Escalation in the cost of providing employee health care;
• The outcome of any legal claims known or unknown;
• The performance of the North American auto market; and
• The North American recessionary economy.

Additional risk factors that could affect the Company’s performance are set forth in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K. In addition, risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it believes to be immaterial also may adversely affect the Company. Should any known or unknown risks or uncertainties develop into actual events, or underlying assumptions prove inaccurate, these developments could have material adverse effects on the Company’s business, financial condition and results of operations.

This release contains time-sensitive information that reflects management’s best analysis only as of the date of this release. A. Schulman does not undertake an obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect new events, information or circumstances, or otherwise. Further information concerning issues that could materially affect financial performance related to forward-looking statements can be found in A. Schulman’s periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE A. Schulman, Inc.