Ferro Launches Solar Aluminum Paste Production at Suzhou, China Manufacturing Facility

Expanded Production Line Increases Ferro Electronic Material Systems’ Ability to Serve China’s Solar Marketplace

• Press Release
• Source: Ferro Corporation
• On 10:36 am EDT, Monday September 21, 2009

CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ferro Corporation (NYSE: FOE - News) announced that its Electronic Material Systems (EMS) business unit has begun production of solar aluminum paste at its expanded Suzhou, China, facility. The 16,500-square-meter plant has room for future expansion to manufacture products such as silver pastes, surface technology products, multilayer materials, electronic glass, and precious metal powders. The Suzhou facility also houses an applications laboratory to support regional development as well as Application Technology engineers to assist customers in their product development efforts.

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“Asia is now the largest source of solar cells in the world, with three of the top five producers located in the region,” said Jeffrey Edel, EMS general manager advanced materials. “Also, a number of companies are expanding production into Asia. We expanded our production and applied technology capabilities in Suzhou to serve the needs of these customers.”

About Ferro Electronic Material Systems

Ferro Electronic Material Systems, a leading supplier of materials for fabricating photovoltaic silicon solar cells for more than 25 years, has locations in Vista, CA; Penn Yan, NY; South Plainfield, NJ; Haverhill, United Kingdom; Uden, The Netherlands; Hanau, Germany; Tsukuba, Japan; Suzhou, China, and Singapore. Its products include surface finishing materials for LCD, hard disk and ophthalmic polishing; CMP slurries for semiconductors and advanced integrated circuits; metal pastes and powders for solar energy applications, advanced packaging and thick film conductors; and dielectrics used in multilayer ceramic capacitors (MLCC).

About Ferro Corporation

Ferro Corporation (http://www.ferro.com) is a leading global supplier of technology-based performance materials for manufacturers. Ferro materials enhance the performance of products in a variety of end markets, including electronics, solar energy, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, building and renovation, appliances, automotive, household furnishings, and industrial products.

Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, the Company has approximately 5,400 employees globally and reported 2008 sales of $2.2 billion.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this Ferro press release may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Federal securities laws. These statements 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 often 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 the following:

• Our products are sold into industries where demand is unpredictable, cyclical or heavily influenced by consumer spending, and such demand may be impacted by macro-economic circumstances and uncertainties in credit markets.
• We are subject to a number of restrictive covenants in our credit facilities, and those covenants could affect our flexibility in funding strategic initiatives and lead to challenges in meeting our liquidity requirements, particularly if weak economic conditions continue for a prolonged period.
• We depend on external financial resources and the economic environment and credit market could interrupt our access to capital markets, borrowings, or financial transactions to hedge certain risks, which could adversely affect our financial condition.
• Interest rates on some of our borrowings are variable, and our borrowing costs could be affected adversely by interest rate increases.
• Many of our assets are encumbered by liens that have been granted to lenders, and those liens affect our flexibility to dispose of property and businesses.
• We have significant deferred tax assets, and our ability to utilize these assets will depend on our future performance.
• We are subject to certain continued listing requirements with the NYSE, including share price, shareholders’ equity and market capitalization, and noncompliance with these NYSE rules could result in the delisting of our common stock from the NYSE.
• We depend on reliable sources of energy and raw materials, including petroleum-based materials and other supplies, at a reasonable cost, but availability of such materials and supplies could be interrupted and/or the prices charged for them could escalate.
• The markets in which we participate are highly competitive and subject to intense price competition.
• We strive to improve operating margins through sales growth, price increases, productivity gains, improved purchasing techniques, and restructuring activities, but we may not be successful in achieving the desired improvements.
• The global scope of our operations exposes us to risks related to currency conversion rates and changing economic, social and political conditions around the world.
• We have a growing presence in the Asia-Pacific region where it can be difficult for a U.S.-based company to compete lawfully with local competitors.
• Regulatory authorities in the United States, European Union and elsewhere are taking a much more aggressive approach to regulating hazardous materials, and those regulations could affect our sales.
• Our operations are subject to operating hazards and, as a result, to stringent environmental, health and safety regulations and compliance with those regulations could require us to make significant investments.
• We are a defendant in several lawsuits that could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and/or financial performance unless they are successfully resolved.
• Our businesses depend on a continuous stream of new products, and failure to introduce new products could affect our sales and profitability.
• We are subject to stringent labor and employment laws in certain jurisdictions in which we operate, party to various collective bargaining arrangements, and our relationship with our employees could deteriorate, which could adversely impact our operations.
• Employee benefit costs, especially post-retirement costs, constitute a significant element of our annual expenses, and funding these costs could adversely affect our financial condition.
• Our restructuring initiatives may not provide sufficient cost savings to justify their expense.
• We are exposed to intangible asset risk.
• We have in the past identified material weaknesses in our internal controls, and the identification of any material weaknesses in the future could affect our ability to ensure timely and reliable financial reports.
• We are exposed to risks associated with acts of God, terrorists and others, as well as fires, explosions, wars, riots, accidents, embargoes, natural disasters, strikes and other work stoppages, quarantines and other governmental actions, and other events or circumstances that are beyond our control.

Additional information regarding these risk factors can be found in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2008.

The risks and uncertainties identified above are not the only risks the Company faces. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to the Company or that it currently believes to be immaterial also may adversely affect the Company. Should any known or unknown risks and uncertainties develop into actual events, 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. The Company does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events, information or circumstances that arise after the date of this release.

MEDIA CONTACTS
Ferro Electronic Material Systems
Matthew Healy, Director, Strategic Marketing, 216-750-7906
E-mail: healym@ferro.com
or
Ferro Corporation
Mary Abood, Director, Corporate Communications, 216-875-6202
E-mail: aboodm@ferro.com
or
INVESTOR CONTACT
Ferro Corporation
David Longfellow, Director, Investor Relations, 216-875-7155
E-mail: longfellowd@ferro.com