SPOLEK PRO CHEMICKOU A HUNTI VYROBU, a.s. (Spolchemie):Jaroslav Novotny, Manager; Corporate Strategy Department; Revolucni 86, 400 32 Usti nad Labem; Tel: 0042 47 52 62 383, Fax: 0042 47 52 10 296

B -- SPOLEK BISPHENOL A PROJECT POC Carol Stillwell, USTDA, Room 309, SA-16, Washington, D.C. 20523-1602, Tel: (703) 875-4357, Fax No.: (703) 875-4009 The Grantee invites submission of qualifications and proposal data (collectively referred to as the ''Proposal'') from interested U.S. firms which are qualified on the basis of experience and capability to develop a feasibility study for restructuring Bisphenol A facilities at the Grantee's facilities in the Czech Republic. Spolek is a large diversified chemical company, with revenues of approximately $450 million per year. Spolek wants to become the dominate supplier of epoxy resins in Central Europe. Currently, 50% of their sales of epoxy resins are exported to Germany. They have identified new marketing opportunities in Central Europe but do not have sufficient production capacity to supply the new markets. Additionally, they have identified a market for high purity bisphenol A (BPA) which can be used for production of polycarbonates and epoxy resins. Epoxy resins are manufactured from bisphenol A and epichlorohydrin, both of which are manufactured by Spolek. The current production level of BPA is about 10,000 MTPY using its own process technology. They are consuming all their current production to manufacture epoxy resins. The BPA it produces is not polycarbonate (PC) quality so they cannot serve the high purity market. In order to meet its goal of becoming the dominate supplier of epoxy resins in Central Europe and to supply the emerging PC market, Spolek needs to increase its BPA production capacity and improve its BPA quality. Its objective is to construct a 30,000 MTPY high purity BPA plant using the latest available BPA technology. The new plant will increase Spolek's BPA capacity, provide high purity BPA and reduce manufacturing costs. The ultimate objectives of the feasibility study are to identify the latest BPA technology and determine the economics of the new process. The feasibility study should cover both technical and economic aspects to establish the economic merits of the project. The feasibility study should incorporate the following: Market analysis for BPA in Central Europe, with export markets in Europe; Available Technologies; Availability of feed stock; Product requirements; Define the scope of the facility design required; Estimate the cost of the facility and the project cost; Complete Detailed Work Schedule. Specifically, the consultant will perform the following tasks as a part of the feasibility study: 1. Conduct site visit to the plant in Usti nad Labem to gather pertinent information and data needed to perform the study. 2. Identify Available U. S. Technologies, Evaluate the Technologies and Economics. Develop conceptual design documents for the selected technology. 4. Prepare detailed heat and material balances. 5. Prepare preliminary plant layouts, piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) and one line electrical diagrams. 6. Prepare equipment list and preliminary specifications in order to obtain a +/-15% order of magnitude cost estimate. 7. Perform preliminary environmental assessments: evaluate impacts; establish permit requirements; make emission and control technology assessment. 8. Develop capital, operating and maintenance cost estimates, and construction schedules. Cost will include anticipated expenditures associated with training Spolek personnel. 9. Develop economic and financial analysis for the project, which will include local and imported cost elements. 10. Issue a final report that can serve as a bankable document The U.S. firm selected will be paid in U.S. dollars from a $300,000 grant to the Grantee from the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (TDA). The solicitation package for this project consists of two documents: 1) a detailed Request for Proposals (RFP) which can be obtained directly from TDA and 2) additional proprietary technical information that can be obtained directly from the Grantee. The RFP, which includes requirements for the Proposal, the Terms of Reference, and a background definitional mission report, is available from TDA, at Room 309, SA-16, Washington, D.C. 20523-1602. Requests for the RFP should be faxed to the IRC, TDA at 703-875-4009. In the fax, please include your firm's name, contact person, address, and telephone number. Some firms have found that RFP materials sent by U.S. mail do not reach them in time for preparation of an adequate response. Firms that want TDA to use an overnight delivery service should include the name of the delivery service and your firm's account number in the request for the RFP. Firms that want to send a courier to TDA to retrieve the RFP should allow one hour after faxing the request to TDA before scheduling a pick-up. Please check your internal fax verification receipt. Because of the large number of RFP requests, TDA cannot respond to requests for fax verification. Requests for RFPs received before 4:00 PM will be mailed the same day. Requests received after 4:00 PM will be mailed the following day. Please check with your courier and/or mail room before calling TDA. Please note that no telephone requests for the RFP will be honored. The proprietary technical information that will be needed to complete a proposal can be obtained directly from the Grantee, subject to the execution of a confidentiality agreement with the Grantee. Requests for the proprietary information should be faxed to the Grantee directly. Only U.S. firms and individuals may bid on this TDA financed activity. Interested firms, their subcontractors and employees of all participants must qualify under TDA's nationality requirements as of the due date for submission of qualifications and proposals and, if selected to carry out the TDA-financed activity, must continue to meet such requirements throughout the duration of the TDA-financed activity. All goods and services to be provided by the selected firm shall have their nationality, source and origin in the U.S. or host country. The U.S. firm may use subcontractors from the host country for up to 20 percent of the TDA grant amount. Details of TDA's nationality requirements and mandatory contract clauses are also included in the RFP. Interested U.S. firms should submit 8 copies of their Proposal in English directly to the Grantee. Evaluation criteria for the Proposal are included in the RFP. Price will not be a factor in contractor selection, and therefore, cost proposals should NOT be submitted. The Grantee reserves the right to reject any and/or all Proposals. The Grantee also reserves the right to contract with the selected firm for subsequent work related to the project. The Grantee is not bound to pay for any costs associated with the preparation and submission of Proposals. (0289)

Loren Data Corp. http://www.ld.com (SYN# 0007 19961016\B-0001.SOL)