Appointment New CEO and Capacity Expansion Diolen Industrial Fibers

ARNHEM/EMMEN, The Netherlands

Change of management

Mr. Eric Tierie (50) has been appointed as CEO and General Manager of Diolen Industrial Fibers as of December 1, 2006. The current CEO and General Manager Mr. Jan Michiels (63) will leave Diolen Industrial Fibers as of December 1, 2006. Under Jan Michiels' leadership, a radical Business Plan was drawn up at the start of 2004. The successful implementation of this plan means that Diolen Industrial Fibers can once again look to the future with confidence. Mr. Eric Tierie currently holds a management position at Mittal Steel, the world's largest steel company. He has more than 20 years of experience in management positions at various multinationals such as Unilever, Van Leer Packaging and Mittal Steel. Mr. Eric Tierie has broad background knowledge in technology, production, sales and marketing. He studied Chemical Process Engineering at Delft University of Technology.

Appointment Mr. Wouter Waleson

At the same time Mr. Wouter Waleson has been appointed on the recommendation of the works council as a member of the Board of Management of Diolen Europe Investment bv. Mr Wouter Waleson is a former coordinator of the collective labour agreement and member of the general committee of FNV Bondgenoten, Holland's largest union federation.

Capacity expansion

Diolen Industrial Fibers is once again investing in modernizing the machinery and expanding the capacity of its production facility in Emmen (The Netherlands). These investments put Diolen Industrial Fibers in an even better position to offer its customers consistently high quality at a competitive price. These investments expand the capacity of Diolen Industrial Fibers' production plant in Emmen by 2,500 tons of high-quality polyester yarn.