Specialty Polymers, Inc. Honored

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 16, 2004

WOODBURN, OR: Specialty Polymers, Inc., a family-owned company based in Woodburn, Ore., was honored with an Excellence in Family Business Award in a ceremony held at the Oregon Zoo in Portland on November 18. Specialty Polymers manufactures more than 250 different water-based polymers, which serve as the major ingredient for house paints, wooden deck coatings, inks used on paper sacks, roof coatings, cement coatings and wood glues.

The recognition comes from the Austin Family Business Awards, presented by the Austin Family Business Program, a unit of Oregon State University's College of Business. The Austin Family Business Program provides service and support to family-owned businesses in Oregon through workshops, training seminars and OSU's family-business management course. A family business is broadly defined as having multiple family members or generations involved in the strategic direction, management, and/or work of the company with the intention for the business to remain in the family. Fully 90 percent of Oregon’s businesses are family owned, and these firms contribute more than $24 billion in annual payroll to Oregon's economy.

Specialty Polymers, Inc., was named Family Business of the Year in the large business category, which consists of companies with 100 or more employees. The company was honored for involving members of the second generation in the business, building a family-oriented work environment for employees, retaining employees over long periods of time, and founder Raymond Southwell's ability to create successful products.

The award culminates Specialty Polymers' celebration of its 35th anniversary. In 1969 Raymond Southwell, who was already regarded as an innovative developer of polymers for the paper industry, started his own business with a vision of providing a variety of new, more effective products to the coatings industry. He started the company in his West Salem home, using the family garage as the first lab and manufacturing the polymers at a nearby paint facility.

The company soon outgrew the space and moved to a 5.5-acre property in Woodburn, Ore., which still serves as the company's headquarters. Over the years the Woodburn plant has expanded from a single building to a 62,000-square-foot production facility in five buildings. In 1999, Specialty Polymers expanded further by building a state-of-the-art facility on the East Coast in Chester, S.C., bringing annual production capacity to more than 200 million pounds.

Today Specialty Polymers has 105 employees and is well known for its ongoing innovations, its environmentally friendly emulsion polymers, and its exceptional customer service. Specialty Polymers ships to customers all over the world, including some of the largest paint and coatings companies. Specialty Polymers' skilled production staff is committed to providing quality products and meeting each customer's delivery requirements. Within the past five years Specialty Polymers, which is still owned and managed by the Southwell family, has more than doubled its production capacity and sales revenues.

The company recently announced the promotion of Sheryl Southwell, Raymond Southwell's daughter, from vice president to president of the company. Jeff Southwell, Raymond's son, is the Vice President of Operations. Raymond, who served as president of Specialty Polymers for 35 years, was also promoted, to CEO and chairman of the board. He continues to be active in the company, particularly in the development of new products, as well as in corporate decision-making.

"The technical staff and I are currently developing products that are unique and that provide solutions to our customers," Raymond said. Specialty Polymers has built its reputation by taking its customers' challenges to the lab and creating a response that meets the need, even sometimes making small batches of specialized products. "That's why it's called Specialty Polymers," Raymond said with a smile. "We are constantly coming up with ideas for additional products that will carry on our tradition of innovative product development." The company's commitment to innovation has carried it through many changes in the industry. "Not many companies have started in this business and survived for 35 years," Raymond observed.

Since joining the Specialty Polymers management team, Sheryl Southwell has been instrumental in more than doubling the company's sales revenues. She has provided the leadership and direction to see the company through the recession and achieve tremendous growth.

"Terrific employees, innovative products, as well as the ability to move much faster and be more flexible than our competitors, have allowed Specialty Polymers to enjoy an incredible growth rate during some tough economic times," said Sheryl. "These assets have also set the stage for us to continue to grow and expand our product line and market penetration."

In the coming years the company plans to further expand its facilities, as well as its diverse product line and its customer-focused support staff. "Through it all we will maintain Ray Southwell’s original mission to supply exceptional customized products that give our customers a competitive edge," said Sheryl Southwell.

The 2004 Excellence in Family Business Award winners were selected from nominations of businesses throughout the state, made earlier this year. In its sixteenth year, the awards program recognizes the contributions and successes of Oregon family-owned businesses in four size categories based on the number of employees. Any family business is eligible to be considered for recognition regardless of size or longevity. For more information about the Austin Family Business Program or the Excellence in Family Business Awards, call 800-859-7609 or visit www.familybusinessonline.org