Press Release

Kraton Names Michael Evans
as Vice President – Asia Pacific

HOUSTON – May 5, 2005 - Kraton Polymers LLC today announces the appointment of Michael Evans as Vice President – Asia Pacific, effective June 1, 2005. Mr. Evans is assuming the Asia Pacific operations currently managed by Mr. Roger Morgan.

Mr. Morgan will continue as Vice President – Europe and Middle East and will work closely with Mr. Evans during the transition.

In his role, Mr. Evans will be responsible for our Asia Pacific operations particularly focusing on developing new capabilities and growing our business in the region. He will report to George Gregory, Chief Executive Officer and President.

“We at Kraton are committed to the Asia Pacific Region and seek to expand our presence there,” said George Gregory. “Michael Evans has the leadership, regional knowledge and vision needed to ensure the success and growth of our business in this area.”

Mr. Evans joins Kraton from Koch Industries, Inc. where he served in a variety of positions, most recently in the role of Director Business Development. Prior to Koch, Mr. Evans was employed by various companies, including seven years with Getz Corporation as President for the Asia Region.

Mr. Evans is a 1981 graduate of the University of California, Davis where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Economics.

About Kraton

Kraton Polymers LLC is a premier, global specialty chemicals company and is the world’s largest producer of styrenic block copolymers (“SBCs”), a family of products whose chemistry was pioneered by Kraton over forty years ago.  SBCs are highly-engineered synthetic elastomers, which enhance the performance of products by delivering a variety of attributes, including greater flexibility, resilience, strength, durability and processability.  Kraton polymers are used in a wide range of applications including road and roofing materials, numerous consumer products (e.g., diapers, tool handles and toothbrushes), tapes, labels, medical applications, packaging, automotive and footwear products.  Kraton has the leading position in nearly all of its core markets and is the only producer of SBCs with global manufacturing capability.  Its production facilities are located in the United States, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Brazil, and Japan.

Polymer Holdings LLC is the parent company of Kraton Polymers LLC and has no material assets other than its investment in Kraton Polymers LLC. 

Kraton, the Kraton logo and design are trademarks of Kraton Polymers LLC.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release includes “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements and are often characterized by the use of words such as “believes,” “expects,” “estimates,” “projects,” “may,” “will,” “intends,” “plans” or “anticipates,” or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions.  In this press release, forward-looking information relates to bookings trends, backlog levels, estimated turns levels, first quarter 2005 revenues, gross margins and average selling prices, and similar matters. All forward-looking statements in this press release are made based on management’s current expectations and estimates, which involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Among these factors are changes in overall economic conditions, the cyclical nature of the chemical industry, changes in demand for our products, changes in inventories at our customers and distributors, technological and product development risks, availability and cost of raw materials, competitors’ actions, pricing and gross margin pressures, loss of key customers, order cancellations or reduced bookings, the timing and cost of planned capital expenditures, changes in manufacturing yields, control of costs and expenses, significant litigation, risks associated with acquisitions and dispositions, risks associated with our substantial leverage and restrictive covenants in our debt agreements, risks associated with our international operations, the threat or occurrence of international armed conflict and terrorist activities both in the United States and internationally, risks and costs associated with increased and new regulation of corporate governance and disclosure standards (including pursuant to Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002), and risks involving environmental or other governmental regulation. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. We assume no obligation to update such information.