Ashland Inc 's

Specialty Ingredients and Performance Materials compete in the highly fragmented specialty chemicals industry. The participants in the industry offer a varied and broad array of product lines designed to meet specific customer requirements. Participants compete with individual and service product offerings on a global, regional and/or local level subject to the nature of the businesses and products, as well as the end-markets and customers served. Competition is based on several key criteria, including product performance and quality, product price, product availability and security of supply, responsiveness of product development in cooperation with customers, customer service, industry knowledge and technical capability. Certain key competitors are significantly larger than Ashland and have greater financial resources, leading to greater operating and financial flexibility. The industry has become increasingly global as participants have focused on establishing and maintaining leadership positions outside of their home markets. Many of these segments’ product lines face domestic and international competition, as a result of industry consolidation, pricing pressures and competing technologies.

Valvoline competes in the highly competitive automotive lubricants and consumer products car care businesses, principally through its offerings of premium products and services primarily under the Valvoline™ family of trademarks, coupled with strong brand marketing, customer support and distribution capabilities. Some of the major brands of motor oils and lubricants with which Valvoline competes globally are Castrol†, Mobil† and Pennzoil†. In the “fast oil change” business, Valvoline competes with other leading independent fast lube chains on a national, regional or local basis, as well as automobile dealers and service stations. Important competitive factors for Valvoline in the “fast oil change” market include the Valvoline brand recognition; maintaining market presence through Valvoline Instant Oil ChangeSM and Valvoline Express Care™ outlets; and quality and speed of service, location, convenience, sales promotions and other value-add elements.