PRESS RELEASE

DECEMBER 6, 2022

SAVE THE DATE for World Brush Expo: May 22-24, 2024

Brought to you by ABMA and FEIBP

Hosted by Bologna Fiere, Bologna, Italy

THE Industry Show for and by the Brush Industry

The American Brush Manufacturers Association (ABMA) and the European Brushware Federation (FEIBP) are excited to announce the creation of a new show for the industry: World Brush Expo, which will take place 22-24 May 2024 in Bologna Fiere, Bologna Italy.

Donna Frendt, ABMA Executive Director says, “We have been working on this show since it became apparent at the ABMA meeting last March that Interbrush in Freiburg was untenable. Shortly after the completion of the ABMA convention, ABMA reached out to FEIBP to see if there was interest in putting on an industry show, by and for the industry.”

Since that time, a joint task force from the two associations has been working together to determine a pathway to create and hold an industry show. Fons Ceelaert, FEIBP Managing Director stated, “The process to come together has been very good for both associations and we look forward to partnering with ABMA to make World Brush Expo THE show for the industry.”

The task force invited Daniel Strowitzki of FWTM (the owners of Interbrush) to make a presentation to continue the show in Freiburg and to submit a proposal for Salzburg, Austria. The task force and ABMA/FEIBP wish to thank Daniel Strowitzki, FWTM, and the Messe in Freiburg for 45 years of partnership and for the outstanding InterBrossa/Interbrush shows. In addition to the proposals from Freiburg and Salzburg the task force entertained proposals from Bologna, Modena, and Parma Italy. Eventually Bologna was selected as the host venue for 2024.

Greg Miller, ABMA President said, “I am very excited to see a new industry show arise from the ashes. It has been since 2016 that the entire industry has been able to get together and I think I speak for everyone when I say that this will be a great event for the industry and I can’t wait for 2024!”

Andrew McIlroy added, “The Bologna venue is world class and Bologna is a fascinating city and will appeal to attendees from all over the world. In addition, their infrastructure is excellent for our show; attendees and exhibitors alike will enjoy the variety of hotel accommodations and the easy logistics of the Bologna site.”

The Bologna Fiere Exhibition Centre (https://www.bolognafiere.it/en/venues/bologna/) covers 375,000 square meters of indoor and external areas. Its exhibition services area covers 36,000 square meters. The venue has 20 halls which are fully wired, air-conditioned and equipped with state-of-the-art IT systems. Multiple events can be held simultaneously thanks to 5 separate entrances. Flexibility and mobility are ensured by a network of walkways and by a system of carparks for a total of 14,500 covered parking spaces. Vehicle owners can reserve their space in advance. BolognaFiere is the first exhibition center with its own motorway tollbooth, that provides direct entrance to the venue. A “BolognaFiere” railway station handles special trains for exhibitions with a large number of visitors. A heliport is located on the roof of halls 16-18.

Bologna Italy is one of Italy’s great and historic cities. It has a major airport (BLQ) and supports over 13,000 hotel rooms in the city. The exhibition center is near the city center making for convenient logistics.

Bologna is home to the oldest university in Europe and has many nearby attractions for attendees and visitors alike.

We look forward to welcoming you to the first edition of World Brush Expo in Bologna, May 22-24, 2024. Watch for exhibitor registration info coming soon, and please visit our website for more information as it develops.

https://worldbrushexpo.com/

DALLAS, November 1, 2022 -- Celanese Corporation (NYSE: CE), a global chemical and specialty materials company, today announced it has completed the acquisition of the majority of the Mobility & Materials (M&M) business of DuPont.

“We are excited to welcome the M&M team to Celanese and I want to thank the teams that worked diligently to successfully close this acquisition today,” said Lori Ryerkerk, chairman and chief executive officer. “With the addition of M&M’s industry-renowned brands and product portfolios, we have established Celanese as the preeminent global specialty materials company. As one team, we will be better positioned to elevate the growth trajectory of Engineered Materials and to create value for our customers and shareholders. We look forward to providing additional commentary on the acquisition as part of our upcoming third quarter 2022 earnings release and conference call later this week.”

The Company announced the acquisition of M&M in February 2022. As part of the transaction, Celanese has acquired a broad portfolio of engineered thermoplastics and elastomers, industry-renowned brands and intellectual property, global production assets, and a world-class organization.

About Celanese

Celanese Corporation is a global chemical leader in the production of differentiated chemistry solutions and specialty materials used in most major industries and consumer applications. Our businesses use the full breadth of Celanese's global chemistry, technology and commercial expertise to create value for our customers, employees, shareholders and the corporation. As we partner with our customers to solve their most critical business needs, we strive to make a positive impact on our communities and the world through The Celanese Foundation. Based in Dallas, Celanese employs approximately 8,500 employees worldwide and had 2021 net sales of $8.5 billion. For more information about Celanese Corporation and its product offerings, visit www.celanese.com.

Messe Freiburg: Interbrush trade fair to be discontinued after 45 years

Freiburg Wirtschaft Touristik und Messe GmbH & Co. KG (FWTM) will not continue the Interbrush trade show at Messe Freiburg after around 45 years, meaning there will be no more Interbrush in Freiburg as early as 2024. After Zahoransky AG, based in Baden-Württemberg and the world's largest and leading exhibitor, changed its corporate orientation last year and announced that it would no longer participate in Interbrush for this reason, an intensive dialog was initiated with the ABMA and FEIBP associations and other leading exhibitors. The FWTM presented various concept ideas for a new content orientation under its own organization, including possible new locations in German-speaking countries. In particular, leading Italian and Belgian companies focused the discussion on the Freiburg location and questioned this location due to its proximity to Zahoransky AG.

IIn further discussions, the companies as well as the two associations American Brush Manufacturers Association (ABMA) and European Brushware Federation (FEIBP) demanded a rolling system with alternating European locations, for example in Italy and Benelux, combined with the condition that in the future the lead should no longer lie with FWTM/Messe Freiburg, starting with a location in Italy. After considering all the points discussed, the FWTM has decided not to continue the format Interbrush in the future – a venue in a non-Germanspeaking country every four years is neither expedient nor feasible for the FWTM for logistical and economic reasons - the lack of support from leading associations for a proposed new location by the FWTM is also a signal from the industry against the FWTM/Messe Freiburg.

The FWTM also believes that holding on to Interbrush 2024 without the support of the associations and leading companies is neither justifiable in terms of content nor economically for all those involved in this industry. "We very much regret this development and the decision of the associations and a few, but in terms of external impact very important exhibitors. In our opinion, values and competencies such as experience, quality, industry knowledge and also the partnership that has existed for over four decades were not included in the evaluation and result determination - but which are an essential pillar of the event", says FWTM Managing Director Daniel Strowitzki. "We wish the entire industry, of which we were able to be a part for many years, all the best for the future and thank everyone who has accompanied the Interbrush format over many decades."

About Interbrush: Originally founded as Interbrossa, the internationally oriented trade fair Interbrush has been organized by FWTM at the Messe Freiburg since 1977, every four years since 1980. In 2024, the world's leading trade fair for machinery, materials and accessories for the brush, paintbrush, paint roller and mopin-dustry would have entered its 13th edition. Most recently, in 2016, more than 7,500 professionals from around 90 nations came and were able to see for themselves the latest developments in the international industrial two-way trade from 200 exhibitors on around 21,500 square meters of exhibition space.