GlassRock Insulation Co., a portfolio company of Citadel Capital’s regional mining platform ASCOM, is now targeting exports of stonewool to key markets in Europe, North Africa, the Gulf Cooperation Council countries and Turkey following the start of production at its greenfield facility in May 2012.\n\nThe company is also selling stonewool, a key component of greener buildings with lower environmental footprints, on the Egyptian market. GlassRock will additionally begin production of glasswool insulation in September.\n\nGlasswool and stonewool are insulation materials that play an important role in the conservation of energy in a wide range of industries. By helping reduce waste energy, they curb the use of fuels that contribute to climate change through the emission of greenhouse gasses. The products are broadly used in the construction, HVAC, industrial, marine and automotive sectors as well as the agricultural sector.\n\n“Our goal is to become a world-class provider of heat and noise insulation solutions,” said GlassRock Insulation Co. Chief Executive Officer Bechir Dardour. “Energy-efficient building materials are the only option going forward in Egypt and around the world, and we are delighted to be part of the solution to the creation of a greener, more environmentally friendly future.”\n\nBuildings account for some 40% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions due to the energy they consume, according to estimates by the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.\n\nConstruction of the US$ 70 million greenfield GlassRock plant, located equidistant to Cairo and Alexandria in the Sadat City Free Zone, began in 2010. The facility has created 260 direct jobs and operates with world-class technology licensed from Italy’s Tenova.\n\nGlasRock’s total annual production capacity will split as 30,000 metric tons of stonewool and 20,000 metric tons of glasswool.\n\nCitadel Capital’s effective ownership in GlassRock stands at 36.28%.\n\n—Ends—\n\nASCOM Geology and Mining is a leader in the field of geology and mining in North and East Africa, the Gulf, and the Levant, offering the market a unique interface between science and field applications. In addition to R&D activities related to its mining assets, ASCOM has also moved up the value chain within the industrial minerals sector with the production of calcium carbonate and glasswool.\n\nCitadel Capital (CCAP.CA on the Egyptian Stock Exchange) is the leading private equity firm in the Middle East and Africa. Citadel Capital focuses on building regional platforms in select industries through acquisitions, turnarounds, and greenfields executed via Opportunity-Specific Funds. The firm’s 19 OSFs now control Platform Companies with investments worth more than US$ 9.5 billion in 15 countries spanning 15 industries, including mining, cement, transportation, food and energy. Since 2004, Citadel Capital has generated more than US$ 2.2 billion in cash returns to its co-investors and shareholders (on investments of US$ 650 million), more than any other private equity firm in the region. Citadel Capital is the largest private equity firm in Africa by PE assets under management (2007-2012, as ranked by Private Equity International). For more information, please visit www.citadelcapital.com.