VerticalNet, Grace, and Aspen Tech form e-Catalysts
Online marketplace for catalysts industry
W. R. Grace & Co. (Columbia, MD), VerticalNet Inc. (Horsham, PA), and Aspen Technology Inc. (Cambridge, MA) announced on October 10 that they have formed e-Catalysts Inc., a new on-line B2B exchange for the $10 billion catalysts industry. e-Catalysts.com will enable companies doing business in the catalyst industry to make faster, more efficient decisions in the purchase and sale of catalysts and related products and services. e-Catalysts will facilitate the exchange of information, online collaboration, and optimization of business processes with trading partners, and execution of secure transactions via the Internet.
e-Catalysts.com, a digital marketplace, is expected to go live in December 2000 and will operate as an open, neutral marketplace, enabling all trading partners in the refining, petrochemical, chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology industries to participate. "This new vertical marketplace clearly demonstrates the power of the network effect in industrial trading environments, combining Grace's industry leadership, VerticalNet's leading digital marketplace solutions, and Aspen Technology's powerful e-Business optimization, supply chain, and collaboration solutions," said Joe Galli, VerticalNet president and CEO. "We are excited to partner with Grace, one of the world's leading bricks-and-mortar industrial companies, and to align with AspenTech, the new economy leader for process manufacturers, to capitalize on the global scope of this market and bring another industrial sector online."
"e-Catalysts will drive productivity for its members by reducing transaction costs, providing B2B collaboration, utilizing supply chain management services, and optimizing their operating units," said Paul J. Norris, chairman, president, and CEO of Grace. "We believe that e-Catalysts will grow our catalysts businesses to the next level, allowing us to better serve our customers and providing closer ties to our suppliers, generating great value through the addition of value-added services."
"AspenTech is pleased to be partnering with Grace and VerticalNet to build a next generation B2B netmarket," said Larry Evans, chairman and CEO of AspenTech. "This next generation e-business netmarket will not only bring efficiency to the catalyst market but provide a platform for the delivery of new services and added value to all participants in e-Catalysts by integrating business processes, leveraging plant and refinery information, and providing optimization tools in a collaborative environment."
e-Catalysts, Inc. has begun a search for a CEO and other key staff members, and is currently in discussions with all major catalyst manufacturers regarding their participation.
About the partners
Grace is a premier specialty chemical and materials company applying innovative technologies to provide value-added products and services to global markets. It is a leading global supplier of catalysts, silica products, specialty construction chemicals and building materials, and container products. With annual sales of approximately $1.5 billion, Grace has over 6,000 employees and operations in nearly 40 countries. For more information, visit Grace's Web site at www.grace.com.
VerticalNet Inc. (www.verticalnet.com) provides end-to-end e-commerce solutions targeted at distinct business segments through three strategic business units: VerticalNet Markets owns and operates 57 industry-specific marketplaces providing commerce, content, and community in a hosted environment; VerticalNet Exchanges focuses on direct material open and spot markets; and VerticalNet Solutions builds digital marketplaces for global 2000 customers and neutral Net market makers. VerticalNet International leverages the company's three strategic business units to create global Internet B2B marketplaces, offering products and services internationally and partnering with companies that have strong local presence and domain expertise.
Aspen Technology Inc. is the leading supplier of integrated software and solutions that enable process manufacturers to automate and optimize their plants and extended supply chains, while enabling e-business. With deep process knowledge, best-in-class technology, and strategic alliances with leading business and technology partners, AspenTech offers the industry's broadest family of scaleable solutions, allowing process manufacturers to achieve competitive advantage in the Internet economy. AspenTech's Plantelligence solutions automate and optimize critical business processes at the plant level. AspenTech's Enterprise Optimization solutions extend the scope of optimization across the enterprise and extended supply chain.
AspenTech's e-Supply Chain solutions enable manufacturers to link seamlessly to customers, suppliers and on-line trading exchanges, creating a collaborative, flexible extended enterprise. AspenTech employs more than 1,600 people worldwide. For more information visit www.aspentech.com.
Edited by Angelo DePalma
Managing Editor, Drug Discovery Online and Pharmaceutical Online
adepalma@vertical.net