Johns Manville Launches Micro-Strand® XP Microfiber

Johns Manville Launches Micro-Strand® XP Microfiber
Strategic Fiber Supplier Now Offers the Only Filtration Glass Microfiber That Has Passed Strict European Union Biopersistence Test According 97/69 EG Q

Denver/Bad Homburg/Frankfurt (June 12, 2007) --- Johns Manville today announced the introduction of Micro-Strand® XP microfiber, a new material for use in manufacturing microglass paper used in HEPA, ULPA and ASHRAE filters. In its ongoing effort to manufacture the safest, high-performance products on the market today and using corporate Research & Development resources unsurpassed in the filtration industry, Johns Manville has engineered a unique, new glass microfiber that meets the rigid health testing standards established by the European Union for fiber exoneration. Micro-Strand® XP gives manufacturers the ability to create value-added products that can be used with confidence both today and in the future.

Micro-Strand® XP meets regulatory standards
Based on a patented glass formulation, Micro-Strand® XP is a new class of microfiber, specifically formulated with a unique chemical composition to pass the European Union's rigorous biosolubility criteria. Thus, according to the current EU criteria, Micro-Strand® XP fiber glass is exempt from EU classification requirements and is currently considered safe to manufacture and handle using only standard safeguards to protect from possible mechanical irritation.

A very small, high performance fiber
Made up of fibers that are approximately one micron in diameter, tests have proven that Micro-Strand® XP is rapidly cleared from the lungs if accidentally inhaled, making it ideal for even the most stringent of regulatory environments. Micro-Strand® XP also meets the demanding performance requirements needed in HEPA and ULPA filtration applications.

"As the first biosoluble microfiber designed specifically to meet the strict EU biosolubility testing protocol, Micro-Strand® XP is a huge breakthrough in fiber development for the filtration industry," said John Robertson, Global Product Manager for Johns Manville's Engineered Products Group. "This product enables manufacturers to create category-leading filtration products, as well as providing the added peace-of-mind that these products will meet the applicable governmental regulations well into the future."

"Micro-Strand® XP gives us one less thing to worry about in today's difficult manufacturing environment," said Patrick Apfeld, vice president of marketing and business development at Lydall Filtration, a division of Lydall, Inc., a Johns Manville customer. "And with the JM brand, we know our mechanical filtration materials are as good as it gets."

Johns Manville, a Berkshire Hathaway company, is a leading manufacturer and marketer of premium-quality building and specialty products. In business since 1858, the Denver, USA-based Company has sales in excess of $2.5 billion and holds leadership positions in all of the key markets that it serves. Johns Manville employs approximately 8,500 people and operates 42 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe and Asia.

The Engineered Products Group (EPG), one of Johns Manville's two strategic business units, produces nonwovens and fibers, glass fabrics and air filtration products at 14 manufacturing locations worldwide: Spartanburg, SC, Waterville, OH, Richland, MS, and Etowah, TN (USA); Berlin, Bobingen, Karlstein, Steinach, and Wertheim (Germany); Oskarström and Helsingborg (Sweden); Trnava (Slovakia); and Shanghai and Luoyang (China). Additional information can be found at: www.jm.com .