Cookson Electronics Announces the Relocation and Grand Opening of the Cookson Electronics India Research Centre in Bangalore

Company Brief

Mumbai, October 23, 2007

Reiterating its ongoing commitment to breakthrough research and development and to India, Cookson Electronics today announced the relocation and opening of its new state-of-the-art Research Center in Bangalore, India. The 32,000 sq. ft. facility is an integral part of Cookson’s global research commitment, which consists of scientific exploration in four research and development centers located in the United States, Japan, Singapore and India. A global leader in the development, manufacturing and sales of innovative materials used in electronic assembly processes, Cookson Electronics was the first in its industry to establish an R&D facility in the India when it set up in the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore in 2004.

“Three years ago, we made a strategic decision to establish an R&D center here in Bangalore in close relationship with the Indian Institute of Science. In the last three years we have expanded our investment in people and equipment and outgrown our space. And, now we are very happy to have this new, larger R&D facility,” said Steven Corbett, CEO of Cookson Electronics. “This is extremely important to our continued growth in Asia. Currently, 60% of our Assembly Materials business is derived from the Asia/Pacific Region. It is critical in our business that our research and development be close to our customers so we can respond quickly to new product development opportunities.” The new R&D Centre has been set up with an investment of 10 million US$ and has invested substantially over the last 12 years in the Ambattur facility.

Cookson Electronics is present in products in areas of Consumer electronics, telecommunication & networking, mother boards to name a few, and offers excellent customer support worldwide. The Cookson Electronics facility in India caters to all major electronics materials manufacturers involved in the country’s prominent sectors such as telecom, consumer electronics, power, semiconductor and the like.

“Our talented people at the Research Centre, many with PhDs from premier institutes in India in diverse areas of chemistry and materials will apply their skills to the development of technologies that will advance electronic assembly processes and products worldwide,” said Dr. Bawa Singh, V.P. of Technology and Chief Technology Officer with Cookson Electronics Assembly Materials. “In addition, we intend to focus our attention on the development of emerging technologies and products for other high technology-based business sectors. In particular, we will be more involved in semiconductor manufacturing and packaging. In the photo-voltaic industry and in the area of renewable energy, our products, in the form of, high conductivity low temperature fusing nano-silver inks and other such new nano technology based products, will help our solar customers increase their operational efficiencies.”

“Our new R&D centre in Bangalore will help support India’s broad-based growth in electronics and provide state-of-the-art support for the entire Asia-Pacific region,” said Raji Koshy, General Manager - Cookson India Private Limited. “Customers locating their facilities to India will now have access to our state of the art R&D Centre in addition to the world class manufacturing facility in Chennai.”

The Cookson Electronics India Research Centre will continue to leverage its strategic collaboration with the Indian Institute of Science, India’s foremost research and teaching institution for science and technology. In India, Cookson Electronics has been present for over 12 years and has a significant manufacturing and R&D presence. Their state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at Ambattur caters to various sectors of the Indian market.

For more information, visit www.alpha.cooksonelectronics.com.

In the rapidly growing Asia/Pacific region, Cookson Electronics operates product application support facilities Taiwan, Shenzhen, and Shanghai China, in addition to its four global R&D centers.

Cookson Electronics is a leading supplier of high-performance assembly materials, semiconductor packaging and specialty chemicals and coatings used in the electronics assembly and surface finishing industries. Cookson Electronics is a division of Cookson Group plc, a global leader in electronic materials and ceramics

For further information, please contact:

Tabassum Khan / Prerna Gulati

Corporate Voice/Weber Shandwick

+919819027649 / +919920304305

tkhan@corvoshandwick.co.in / prerna@corvoshandwick.co.in

E-mail: prerna@corvoshandwick.co.in