Wilmington, DE, Nov. 15, 2005 - - The Pulp and Paper Division of Hercules Incorporated announced the consolidation of research and development and customer applications laboratory functions in North America.  The Jacksonville, Florida, Applied Sciences Center will be closed and all R&D and customer applications activities will be moved to the Wilmington Research Center in Wilmington, Delaware.

R&D activities will be consolidated into the existing operations in Wilmington to facilitate ongoing efficiencies.  A new customer applications facility, which will house the pilot papermaking and paper testing functions, will be constructed on the Wilmington Research Center site.

This action completes Hercules’ plan to concentrate research capabilities regionally.  Earlier this year the Hercules European Research Center functions at the Barneveld, Netherlands, facility were relocated to Helsingborg, Sweden, and Wilmington, Delaware.  Activities related to closure of the Jacksonville, Florida, facility and relocation of the appropriate personnel will begin immediately and should be completed by late 2006.

“Concentration of our research efforts at the corporation’s Wilmington Research Center will allow Hercules to more effectively meet the ongoing needs of our customers.  Additionally, this will allow us to maintain a high level of applications support for our customers around the globe,” said Paul Raymond, President, Hercules Pulp and Paper Division.

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