Excerpts From Amcol International 1Q Conference Call DOW JONES NEWSWIRES April 19, 2004 2:02 p.m. The following are edited excerpts of a transcript provided by CCBN StreetEvents of Amcol International Corp's (ACO) first-quarter earnings conference call: Earlier Monday, the maker of specialty mineral products said its net income for the quarter rose to $5.1 million, or 16 cents a share, from $2.9 million, or 10 cents a share, a year ago. Sales for the period rose 28% to $102 million from $79.5 million last year. The company attributed one cent a share of its improved profits to stronger foreign currencies, particulary the Euro and British pound, and another one-cent a share to recent acquisitions. Participating on the call with analysts were President, Chief Executive, and Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Washow and Chief Financial Officer Gary Castagna. On Impact Of Weather CALLER: Having followed AMCOL for awhile, I sort of remember that, because of your mining operations, the company always used to have lower earnings in the first quarter due to weather-related items. Did we have any favorable weather conditions or were the gains that you're reporting solely due to economic growth in North America and Southeast Asia? WASHOW: I think the first quarter certainly was - there had to be some benefit of good weather, good environment for the environmental products, I should say. Generally, that is really the swing part of the quarter, is the environmental segment. And the European business was strong. Weather over there apparently was fine. We certainly did not hear that as a problem, which sometimes we do. So I would describe the quarter - I think we did see some meaningful, real sales growth in the mineral side that was very sustainable. Environmental had a bit stronger, quite frankly, than we would've expected first quarter. But part of that based on acquisition, part of it based on favorable conditions. I would not use the percentage increase of the first quarter certainly in trying to predict the year. It was a very strong quarter. On Acquisitions CALLER: Can you provide us with looking at the three acquisitions you talked about? If those three companies performed at the same revenue base as they had last year, what will that add in terms of revenues to the Company for this year? WASHOW: The acquisition effect on revenues in the comparable quarters, Jay, was approximately about 20 percent of the sales growth was associated with the acquisitions. CALLER: Twenty percent. But what will those companies add? If they just before the way they did last year, what would they add in dollars to the revenues for this year? What were their aggregate revenues for last year? CASTAGNA: Fairly minimal Jay, because in a case, especially the environmental businesses, we really did not acquire through the ongoing businesses in a couple of those cases. They were really start-up tight businesses, technology type of acquisitions. And therefore, they frankly did not have much of a revenue base to them. So the acquisition, I should say, if you took the sales that they had contributed last year and try to extrapolate them out to this year, I don't think is a very valid comparison. On Currency Adjustments CALLER: What was the overall effect on revenue of currency adjustments? CASTAGNA: We did not have a precise number at the point of we get ready for the meeting. But approximately 15 percent of the growth, the sales growth over the prior year, is attributable to currency. On Competition CALLER: You mentioned in the press release that you were - I think the verbiage is - you have the leading position in the domestic lining market. Who has the number two domestic market share? WASHOW: There's really only one other producer out of Canada and ourselves in the U.S. market. The European market is far more competitive where there is a number of producers, although one less since we bought the Austrian company. GSE is the other competitor. They also do HDPE and a whole range of lining systems that install, as well as produce the Metro Mat type product. On Write-Offs CALLER: Gary, should we assume that there will be acquisition write-offs, either annunciated on subsequent quarters or when you complete your year-end accounting, and that the goodwill addition will be less than shown? CASTAGNA: I don't believe so. I think that items like inventories, etc., we have brought in at, if you will, the historical carrying values. So we are not really expecting a significant change, in terms of the profitability swings, if you want to call it, associated with write-offs ... That is saying - if anything, we may be reclassifying more of that goodwill to either purchasing assets or when we are looking at the fixed assets a little bit more closely and to ascribing value there. CALLER: Did you acquire much in the way of inventory that, when it's sold, would go out at very low gross margins? CASTAGNA: No. They were pretty well brought onto our books said at their historical levels. So we're not going to do that. On Share Options CALLER: With respect your share count, should we expect a further expansion of the fully diluted share count in subsequent quarters? CASTAGNA: I personally don't believe a significant amount from here. As you know, with this Treasury stock method, it somewhat accentuates the numbers because we started a new year here and we kind of start with the different metrics in doing that calculation. So I don't believe, at least at this point, that there should be significant variations from where we're at right now. CALLER: When you did the sale of the Palmer Group and the liquidating distribution in 2000, there were something like 3 million shares under option that were created. WASHOW: There were five. CALLER: Alright, five. Have they substantially been converted in this 31 million share count? CASTAGNA: Yes. When we ended the year - I don't know the precise number, but it is disclosed in our footnotes - I believe we have approximately 2.5 million options remaining outstanding. CALLER: And how many did you grant last year? WASHOW: 300,000. CASTAGNA: Historically, it has been about in the 300,000.

From the Wall Street Journal: By JOON KNAPEN DOW JONES NEWSWIRES April 20, 2004 11:08 a.m. AMSTERDAM -- Akzo Nobel NV said Tuesday its first-quarter net profit fell 4.3% as charges and other costs ate into its earnings. The coatings, chemicals and pharmaceuticals company, of Arnhem, the Netherlands, earned €133 million ($159.9 million), or 47 European cents a share, compared with €139 million, or 49 cents a share. The result included impairment charges, restructuring costs for an Organon production site in New Jersey, and a settlement with generic-drug manufacturers in a court case over antidepressant Remeron, at a total cost of €43 million in the quarter. Revenue slipped 4.6% to €3.14 billion from €3.29 billion, reflecting faltering drug sales and the weak U.S. dollar. The pharmaceuticals unit's first-quarter sales fell 7.1% to €821 million from €884 million, hit by a rapid decline in U.S. sales of Remeron. Akzo warned that its success in the pharmaceuticals sector is still some way off. "Our pharma business had a tough quarter, " said Chief Financial Officer Fritz Froehlich, adding: "In the course of this year, we will have a rough ride in pharma." Akzo has high aspirations for its pharmaceuticals business, where profit margins are juicer than in paints and chemicals. Akzo plans to sell three of its chemicals businesses -- catalysts, coating resins and phosphorus chemicals. On Monday, Akzo received a €625 million bid for its catalyst business, the largest unit, from U.S. firm Albemarle Corp. "Although Akzo's first-quarter results came in slightly above expectations, with chemicals and coatings showing some signs of underlying improvements, the pharma outlook remains grim," analyst Bert Siebrand of Bank Oyens said. The company also stuck to its conservative forecasting policy, repeating its outlook that 2004 profit, excluding charges and other items, could fall below that of 2003, when the company recorded a €811 million profit.

Europe's polymer research and test house, is offering a free 30 day trial of their web-based polymer library - www.polymerlibrary.com. Learn more here.;

Have you been to www.nonwovens-industry.com lately? The April issue of Nonwovens Industry went online Thursday, April 15! Roofing and Construction article at http://www.nonwovens-industry.com/April041.htm. Learn more here.;

Anne Steacy has left Poly-Flex and is starting a new consulting venture of her own: Steacy Environmental. More to follow.

Order Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design and Construction by 4/30/2004 and save 10%. To receive the discount just mention geosynthetica.net when ordering. Ordering online? Just make a note in the "special comments" section of the online form. The discount will be applied during processing. Geotechnical Aspects of Landfill Design and Construction - This text addresses landfill design and construction issues in a comprehensive manner. It does this by focusing on all elements of a landfill from design to completion. The text also looks at actual, state-of-the-art construction procedures in a step-by-step manner. This is accomplished with carefully selected design equations and examples, diagrams, tables, and homework problems. (2002, soft cover, 717 pages) Authored by: Xuede Qian, Robert M. Koerner, and Donald H Gray. Contents: Landfill Siting and Site Investigation, Compacted Clay Liners, Geomembranes, Geosynthetic Clay Liners, Engineering Properties of Municipal Solid Waste, Leachate Generation and Evaluation in MSW Landfills Liquid Drainage Layer, Leachate Collection & Removal Systems, Gas Collection & Control Systems, Final Cover System, Landfill Settlement, Landfill Stability Analysis, Vertical Landfill Expansions, Bioreactor Landfills, Construction of Compacted Clay Liners, Installation of Geosynthetic Materials, Postclosure Uses of MSW Landfills. Item # 22094. Nonmember - 118.00, IFAI Member - 115.00, GMA Member - 110.00, plus shipping and handling. US/Canada Shipping $7 for the first item .50 each additional. Other countries please contact us for shipping quote - 800/207-0729 or 651/225-6913. Learn more here.;

Bethesda engineer Victor Elias, 66, whose work ensured that major roads, rails and monuments sat firmly on the ground -- no matter whether the ground was bedrock, landfill, sand or clay, died March 29 of complications related to cancer at Suburban Hospital. Mr. Elias, a geotechnical engineer, supervised and directed soil and foundation studies for Interstate 95 in Boston and Maryland, sections of the Metrorail system and rehabilitation of the Jefferson Memorial's main foundation. He was recognized worldwide as an expert in soil reinforcement and the design of retaining walls, abutments and earth-fill structures. Mr. Elias also wrote or co-wrote more than 25 articles and Federal Highway Administration design manuals on ground improvement technologies. "Every department of transportation across the country, every major consultant group and highway works department extensively relies upon manuals written by Victor Elias, and the cost savings to taxpayers is extremely significant," said Ryan R. Berg, a Minnesota engineer who worked with him. "One of his gifts was an ability to clearly state the requirements for geotechnical design, which is very difficult to do." Geosynthetics are polymers that civil engineers use, from weed inhibitors for gardens to the high-strength plastic membranes that line landfills, said James G. Collin, a Bethesda consulting engineer who worked with Mr. Elias. "One of his contributions was his evaluation of the durability of geosynthetic reinforcement," Collin said. "To me, it was pretty clear in how he approached his work that he really had a passion for it. He was technically very astute. He did some litigation work as an expert witness, and I always felt I wanted him on my team, because he was very good and very intimidating as an adversary." His intimidating exterior hid a warm personality, Collin said. Mr. Elias enjoyed challenging colleagues and standards and arguing out a resolution, Berg agreed, but after he got to know a colleague, "he was a sweet man," Collin said. In his 40-year career, Mr. Elias lectured extensively and taught soil mechanics and foundation engineering at Johns Hopkins University. He was a guest lecturer at the University of Wisconsin, Polytechnic University in New York and Louisiana State University. He taught at workshops of federal and state transportation agencies and lectured at the American Society of Civil Engineers and international engineering society groups. He was an arbitrator for the American Arbitration Association. In 1993, he received the T. Allan Haliburton Medal from the American Society for Testing and Materials. In 2002, he was recognized by the International Geosynthetics Society for his work in the field. Born in Belgrade, Mr. Elias fled his native country with his parents during World War II and landed in an Italian prison camp outside of Turin. After liberation by Americans in 1943, his family moved around Italy until immigrating to New York in 1949. He received bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from what is now Polytechnic University. Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Geri Elias of Bethesda; and two sons, Andrew Elias of Washington and Kenneth Elias of Chevy Chase. Written y Patricia Sullivan, Washington Post Staff Writer

Gundle/SLT Environmental, Inc. announced today that GSE, its directors, and a prospective buyer of GSE have executed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") that reflects an agreement in principle with the plaintiffs to settle three putative class action lawsuits… Learn more here.;

Written by Peter Grkinic: Design Provisions Required for Protecting Membrane Baffle Curtains Within Reservoirs, Contact Tanks, or Other Water Retaining Structures.

The document, Survey of Technologies for Monitoring Containment and Covers drafted by the U.S. EPA Office of Solid Waste Emergency Response will be published in early June.