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Hydro Agri Signs Five-Year Contract For Atrion International’s Global Chemical Management System

Montréal, Québec, February 19, 2003 - Hydro Agri, NHY: (NYSE)—the world's leading supplier of mineral fertilizers—has signed a five-year contract with Atrion International for the company’s Global Chemical Management System. Atrion is the leading developer of Materials Compliance Solutions for safe and cost-effective management and distribution of hazardous materials, in accordance with regulatory compliance standards. Under the terms of the contract, Atrion will supply Hydro Agri with a completely integrated Materials Compliance Solutions platform. Atrion’s solution will help Hydro Agri to address the rapid changes in legislation and regulations governing the handling and transport of chemicals that are taking place both within the European Union and in the rest of the world.

Atrion’s solution—which will replace a number of Hydro Agri’s local and national systems—will enable Hydro Agri to establish a common global platform for efficiently managing and ensuring compliance with changing laws, regulations and data sheets concerning production, transportation and storage of chemicals. In addition to providing Hydro Agri with a central support-centre based on links to SAP technology, Atrion will also work closely with Agri IS to complete the implementation over the course of 2003.

“Since 2000 there have been no less than 80 new EU directives on food and feed,” said Tore K. Jenssen, in charge of Hydro Agri’s activities in Product Stewardship and Responsible Care at Hydro Agri. “Changes are also being made to the regulations for safety data sheets and transport. If we can’t react quickly to these rapid and continuous changes, we run the risk of delays in transportation and high costs. As a global company, we can’t allow ourselves to have second-class standards on these issues. Atrion’s Materials Compliance platform will help us take a proactive approach in meeting future industry changes and requirements.”

“As a global company we wanted to implement a single worldwide system that could communicate with our existing business systems and be tailored to our existing business structure,” said Fred Olav Guldager, Senior Manager, HESQ Hydro Agri. “Our goal was to choose a system that could ensure compliance of chemicals safety data sheet inventories used in production and by our business units at both a national and international level. We chose Atrion because they were the best in meeting our criteria for a global chemical management system. Visits to reference customers further validated our impression of what the Atrion system could deliver ”

Some of the Atrion platform’s key features that led to Hydro Agri’s decision included: automatic updates of safety data sheets in accordance with prevailing legislation and regulations; the ability to produce compliant documents in different languages and in different layouts; and the ease of distribution, using both electronic and paper formats.

Mr. Guldager adds: “In the future, Hydro Agri will have an even greater focus on Product Stewardship than we have today. The implementation of the chemicals management system from Atrion will be an important contribution to this process. The regulatory burden we are facing now is probably small compared to what we will face in the future. Our expectation is that by using Atrion’s solution, we will be better equipped to meet our responsibilities and provide the best possible service to our customers.”

“Hydro Agri is a valuable addition to our list of Fortune clients,” said Ruud Luttikhuizen, Nordic Region Manager of Atrion. “The contract provides Hydro Agri with an opportunity to participate in our Expert Network and work with other Atrion customers—such as BP, Akzo Nobel, DSM, and Jotun Paints—to exchange knowledge and gain additional insights into how chemicals management systems and the application of Best Practice can benefit its business.”

About Atrion International Inc.

Founded in 1989, Atrion International Inc. is the leading developer of advanced platforms for compliance optimization, intelligent authoring, management and distribution of regulatory documents (material safety data sheets, labels, workplace safety cards) product registration and regulatory reporting for hazardous materials. Atrion’s product suite is the first global compliance platform that is ERP neutral and produces multi-jurisdictional documentation to meet global regulatory requirements while lowering the cost of doing business. Atrion’s regulatory and technological expertise provides a strategic business process for customers competing in global markets. Atrion International is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec and has several offices in Europe and the United States. Atrion supports approximately 150 customers whose operations span the globe. Clients include the following multinational organizations: BP, Akzo Nobel, Norsk Hydro, Umicore, DSM, Jotun, Kao Chemicals, Huntsman Polyurethane and Quest International.

Hydro Agri Signs Five-Year Contract For Atrion International’s Global Chemical Management System

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