Rockwood Press Release

Southern Clay Products Announces
North American Price Increase
for Claytone^® and Garamite^® Additives

Gonzales, TX USA (December 29, 2005) – Effective January 15, 2006, or as contracts allow, Southern Clay Products, Inc. is increasing the price of Claytone^® and Garamite^® organoclay additives by an average of 7 percent within the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) region. The increase will vary slightly by grade.  

“Rapidly escalating energy, raw material and freight costs have impacted us all,” explains Donald Poucher, vice president of sales and marketing for Southern Clay Products, ”and make this a necessary course of action.   This realistic adjustment will enable us to continue to provide our customers with the quality products, excellent service and supply assurance they expect.”

Claytone additives are “organically modified” clays that are produced by reacting organic cations, such as a quaternary ammonium chloride, with carefully selected natural sodium bentonite. The reaction changes the nature of the clay from hydrophilic to oleophilic. Claytone additives are used to provide various rheological characteristics to solvent-based or oil-based formulations, including inks, paints, greases, oil well drilling fluids, consumer care products, sealants and adhesives.

Garamite additives are a proprietary blend of minerals that have been organically modified for use in applications using polymer resins, such as unsaturated polyesters, epoxies and vinyl esters.   Garamite additives reduce the tendency of a coating to sag on vertical surfaces while simultaneously offering viscosity control of the formulation.  They also are incorporated into many applications to suspend fillers and pigments.

Southern Clay Products, Inc, Gonzales, Texas, is a leading supplier of smectite-based functional additives to several markets.  The company's complete line of water- and solvent-based rheological additives also includes Permont^®, Bentolite^®, Mineral Colloid^®, Gelwhite^® and Laponite^® rheological additives.  For more information on the full range of products, please visit www.scprod.com.

Southern Clay Products is part of Rockwood Specialties Group, Inc., Princeton, N.J.

Rockwood Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ROC) is the ultimate parent company of Rockwood Specialties Group, Inc., a leading global specialty chemicals and advanced materials company. Rockwood has a worldwide employee base of approximately 10,200 people and net revenue of approximately $2.9 billion in 2004 on a pro forma basis. The company focuses on global niche segments of the specialty chemicals and advanced materials markets, including specialty chemicals, performance additives, titanium dioxide pigments, advanced ceramics, custom synthesis, specialty compounds and electronics. For more information on Rockwood, please visit www.rocksp.com.