Midland, MI - October 18, 2005
Inclosia™ Solutions, a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company that specializes in full-service enclosure development and production, has been awarded the prestigious R&D Magazine "R&D 100 Award" for the invention of the EXO™ Overmolding System. The award designates the EXO Overmolding System as one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year. Previous winners of the R&D 100 Award have included the halogen lamp, the fax machine, the printer, liquid crystal displays and HDTV. The Dow Chemical Company is honored to be a double R&D100 award winner in 2005 as VERSIFY™ Plastomers & Elastomers also won the prestigious award.
The EXO Overmolding System allows wood, metal, fabric and leather, suede or denim -- to be incorporated in the covering of an electronic device at a competitive price. Currently, there are five styles in the EXO family. These include EXO Wood, EXO Metal, EXO Fabric, EXO Leather and the most recent edition, EXO Mix, which enables designers to mix and match numerous materials in the same application.
"We are very proud and excited to receive the R&D 100 Award," said Mike Hus, Research and Development Leader, Inclosia Solutions. "The EXO Overmolding System grants engineers a new way to think about designing consumer electronics. Design engineers can now bring their ideas into reality and offer a wealth of variety for the end-user."
Known for 42 years as "The Oscars of Invention," the prestigious R&D 100 Awards have been helping companies provide the important push products need to compete successfully in the marketplace. The winning of an R&D 100 Award provides a mark of excellence known to industry, government, and academia as proof that the product is one of the most innovative ideas of the year. An independent judging panel of consultants and academics along with the editors of the magazine chose the winning entries and details of this year's winners will be revealed in the September issue of the magazine. An awards ceremony in Chicago is set to follow on October 20, 2005.
"The R&D Award catapults Inclosia's EXO Overmolding System into exclusive territory, and we couldn't be more thrilled," said Tom Tarnowski, Global Business Manager, Inclosia Solutions. "Our customers, including Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Packard Bell, and Tulip Computers understand that with the trend to incorporate real materials onto electronic devices and personalization taking off, the need for a mass-producible product that meets these requirements is increasingly important."
The EXO Overmolding System was also the recipient of the 2005 Design News "Best Product of the Year" award in the Materials Enabling Technologies category. Building from the idea that design engineers know best, the publication asked its readers to be the only judges. The contest drew a record number of entries last year, with Inclosia rising to the top.
About the EXO Overmolding System
The EXO™ Overmolding System is a patented technology that enables authentic materials like fabrics, leathers, woods, and metals to be incorporated into a high volume manufacturing process. EXO has opened up a new world of design options to makers of trendy yet functional enclosures for handheld electronic devices like mobile phones, PDA's and notebook PCs. Enclosures using the EXO process are made to offer the look and soft touch of the latest designer fabrics, the cold feel of real metal, and even the smell of real wood. Inclosia launched the EXO Overmolding System for fabrics including suedes, denims, and leathers in 2003, EXO Wood and EXO Metal in late 2004 and EXO Mix in March 2005.
About Inclosia Solutions
Inclosia Solutions is a business unit of The Dow Chemical Company that delivers innovative enclosure solutions through full-service capabilities from product design through full-scale mass production. Inclosia was created to help OEMs get their products noticed in today's electronics marketplace. Inclosia draws on Dow's material expertise and product development capabilities to yield advanced enclosure systems for telecom, datacom and other consumer products. Inclosia provides full-service, fully integrated global product development capabilities - from concept through high-volume production - improving both product design and speed-to-market. For further information visit www.inclosia.com
About The Dow Chemical Company
Dow is a leader in science and technology, providing innovative chemical, plastic and agricultural products and services to many essential consumer markets. With annual sales of $40 billion, Dow serves customers in 175 countries and a wide range of markets that are vital to human progress: food, transportation, health and medicine, personal and home care, and building and construction, among others. Committed to the principles of sustainable development, Dow and its 43,000 employees seek to balance economic, environmental and social responsibilities. References to "Dow" or the "Company" mean The Dow Chemical Company and its consolidated subsidiaries unless otherwise expressly noted.
For Editorial Information:
Scott Ochander
The Dow Chemical Company
(989) 430-2199
Jenny Shearer
Porter Novelli
(212) 601-8389
