CSX Transportation Recognizes Evonik Degussa’s Excellent Safety Record  

Company Praises Evonik’s Commitment To Railcar Safety, Maintenance  

PARSIPPANY, N.J., April 10, 2008 — Evonik Degussa Corporation has received CSX Transportation (CSXT)’s Chemical Safety Excellence Award — an honor that recognizes Evonik Degussa Corporation’s long-standing commitment to rail car maintenance and safety as well as continuous safe tank car loading.

Dean Piacente, CSX Vice President-Chemicals and Fertilizer, said that to be eligible for the award, a company must ship 600 or more railcars per year on CSXT with zero non-accidental releases during the entire year.

"The goal of the Chemical Safety Excellence Award is to reward those shippers who keep their rail fleets well-maintained and repaired and who provide safety training for their employees," said Piacente. "At CSX, safety is a way of life. We need the support of our customers to help keep our employees, our communities, and our customer's employees as safe as possible and these customers accomplished that without fail in 2007."

Thomas Bates, president of Evonik Degussa Corporation, said the company continually emphasizes safety. “Safety has, and always will, be the number one priority for us,” said Bates. “We are extremely serious about our commitment to safety not only to our employees but to our customers and neighbors as well.”  

Guenter Hoelken, Evonik Degussa Corporation’s vice president, procurement and logistics for North America, noted that the company seeks to establish partnerships with vendors who strive for similar values and goals in safety and sustainability.  “We strongly believe that success comes through cooperation by all involved,” said Hoelken. “We appreciate very much CSX’s continued dedication and support to help make this award possible.”  

A number of other chemical companies also were cited by CSX Transportation in its 14th annual Chemical Safety Excellence Awards. The award ceremony was held in Atlanta.    CSX Transportation Inc. is a principal operating company of CSX Corporation — one of the leading transportation companies, providing rail, intermodal and rail-to-truck transload services.

Company information
Evonik Industries is the creative industrial group from Germany which operates in three business areas: Chemicals, Energy and Real Estate. Evonik is a global leader in specialty chemicals, an expert in power generation from hard coal and renewable energies, and one of the largest private residential real estate companies in Germany. Our strengths are creativity, specialization, continuous self-renewal, and reliability. Evonik is active in over 100 countries around the world. In its fiscal year 2007 about 43,000 employees generated sales of about €14.4 billion and an operating profit (EBIT) of more than €1.3 billion (preliminary figures).

Disclaimer
In so far as forecasts or expectations are expressed in this press release or where our statements concern the future, these forecasts, expectations or statements may involve known or unknown risks and uncertainties. Actual results or developments may vary, depending on changes in the operating environment. Neither Evonik Industries AG nor its group companies assume an obligation to update the forecasts, expectations or statements contained in this release.