On the occasion of the visit of Mr. Bo Xilai, Trade Minister of the People’s Republic of China to France from May 2 to 5, 2005, the acquisition of Danfeng, based in the Heilongjiang Province of northern China, by Saint-Gobain was officially signed today in Paris.

Danfeng is the country’s leading producer of fine silicon carbide powders, a highperformance ceramic which is used in the form of a grain or grit in a wide range of products, such as semiconductor parts, abrasives and refractory products.

Every year, Danfeng produces 15,000 metric tons of silicon carbide with sales close to $20 millions. Thanks to this operation, Saint-Gobain High-Performance Materials has become the leading producer of silicon carbide technical powders in Asia, boosting the Group’s global leadership in this specialty.