Stepan Company Elects Gary E. Hendrickson to Board of Directors

NORTHFIELD, Ill., April 22  /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stepan Company (NYSE: SCL), a global manufacturer of specialty and intermediate chemicals, today announced the election of Gary E. Hendrickson to its Board of Directors.  He succeeds Robert D. Cadieux, who retired from the Board after 17 years of dedicated service to the Company.

Hendrickson is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Valspar Corporation, a global leader in the paint and coatings industry.  Hendrickson has worked for Valspar for 15 years in a variety of managerial and leadership positions that included responsibility for Asia and Valspar's branding objectives.  Prior to joining Valspar, Hendrickson served in the U.S. Navy for 11 years.

"Gary brings strong managerial and leadership skills to Stepan's Board," said F. Quinn Stepan, Chairman of Stepan Company.  "His global insight and strategic responsibilities will contribute to the successful execution of Stepan's growth strategy."

Stepan Company, headquartered in Northfield, Illinois, is a leading producer of specialty and intermediate chemicals used in household, industrial, personal care, agricultural, food and insulation related products. The common and the convertible preferred stocks are traded on the New York and Chicago Stock Exchanges under the symbols SCL and SCLPR.  For more information, visit Stepan's website at http://www.stepan.com/.

Except for historical information, all other information in this news release consists of forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected, anticipated or implied.  The most significant of these uncertainties are described in Stepan Company's Form 10-K, Form 8-K and Form 10-Q reports and exhibits to those reports, and include (but are not limited to), prospects for our foreign operations, foreign currency fluctuations, certain global and regional economic conditions, the probability of future acquisitions and the uncertainties related to the integration of acquired businesses, the probability of new products, the loss of one or more key customer or supplier relationships, the costs and other effects of governmental regulation and legal and administrative proceedings, including the expenditures necessary to address and resolve environmental claims and proceedings, and general economic conditions.  These forward-looking statements are made only as of the date hereof, and Stepan Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 

DATASOURCE: Stepan Company



CONTACT:  James E. Hurlbutt, [phone]



Web Site:  http://www.stepan.com/ 

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