BRUSSELS, Belgium, February 12, 2009 -- Univar, a world leader in the sales and distribution of chemicals, today announced a further expansion to its already vast European setup. Univar Czech s.r.o. has opened a branch in Bratislava, Slovakia, furthering its reach to and sourcing from emerging markets.

European Solutions, Delivered Locally

Univar’s subsidiary, Univar Czech s.r.o, has opened a branch in Bratislava, Slovakia. The country just recently adopted the Euro and is a growing market within the Central and Eastern European region. This is one of the major reasons why Univar plans to increase its business in the area.

‘Our highly specialised distribution business serving the food, personal care and other chemical sectors requires local dedicated sales and professional technical service. This reinforces our commitment beyond our own sites and into local communities and emerging markets,’ said Heinrich Klüwer, General Manager of Univar’s C&EE operations.

Univar has for several years been successfully operating local distribution companies in the C&EE region with industrial sites and local sales offices in Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary.

John van Osch, President for Univar EMEA, commented on the expansion, ‘Central and Eastern Europe is an important market for Univar and is fully in line with our ambitious growth strategy. It is important for Univar to expand our presence and bring the products from our world-leading suppliers into new key markets, meeting the demands of customers, who rely on our technically skilled sales teams and expertise in SHEQ, regulatory matters and logistics.’

Operating from 56 distribution locations in 20 countries across Europe, Univar’s 2,500 local employees serve more than 50,000 European customers in a diverse range of industries including coatings, food, personal care, pharma and other major sectors.

About Univar

Univar is one of the world’s leading independent distributors of industrial chemicals and providers of related specialty services, operating throughout North America and Europe. Univar endeavours to service its customer base, made up of some 250,000 industrial customers, with a full portfolio of products. The majority are commodities that the company buys in bulk, then processes, blends and repacks to meet the diverse requirements of the industries we serve. Others are specialties – purchased pre-packaged and sold on a technical basis, usually under a manufacturer’s own brand. Univar operates a network of approximately 200 distribution centres located throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and China. In 2007, Univar reported sales of $8.1 billion. Univar has approximately 7,700 employees based throughout North America, Europe and China.