Wilmington, DE, July 25, 2003 - - Hercules Incorporated (NYSE: HPC) announced that, at its 2003 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held here today, shareholders elected all four of the Company's nominees to the Board of Directors.  These nominees are Patrick Duff, Thomas P. Gerrity, John K. Wulff, and Joe B. Wyatt.

At today's meeting, Sam Heyman withdrew his opposition slate of four nominees.  In addition, he announced at the meeting that he and his three other existing directors have resigned from the Hercules Board.  Based on Hercules' preliminary analysis of the vote, it is clear that the Company's four director nominees would have been elected had Mr. Heyman not withdrawn his slate.

"We are grateful to our shareholders for their careful consideration of the issues in this election and their vote for our four nominees," said Dr. William H. Joyce, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Hercules.  "We'd also like to thank Sam Heyman for his gracious concession speech and his public expression of support.  We look forward to the opportunity to continue building on the renewed momentum at the Company.  We believe our shareholders understand the value that the people of Hercules have created over the last two years and recognize the Company's significant future potential."

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