Wellman, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend.

SHREWSBURY, N.J. -- The Board of Directors of Wellman, Inc. (NYSE: WLM) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.05 per share on the outstanding shares of the Company's common stock. This dividend is payable on March 15, 2006 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 1, 2006.

Wellman, Inc. manufactures and markets high-quality polyester products, including PermaClear(R) brand PET (polyethylene terephthalate) packaging resins and Fortrel(R) brand polyester fibers. We believe we are one of the world's largest PET plastic recyclers, utilizing a significant amount of recycled raw materials in our manufacturing operations.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In addition, words such as "believes," "expects," "anticipates," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements are made as of the date hereof based upon current expectations, and we undertake no obligation to update the information contained herein. These forward-looking statements involve certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to: reduced raw material margins; reduced sales volumes; increases in costs; the financial condition of our customers; polyester staple fiber and textile imports; availability and cost of raw materials; the impact of litigation arising out of alleged pricing practices in the polyester staple fiber industry; the actions of our competitors; the effective implementation of our cost reduction programs; availability of financing, changes in financial markets, interest rates, credit ratings, and foreign currency exchange rates; regulatory changes; tax risks; U.S., European, Asian and global economic conditions; prices and volumes of PET resin imports; work stoppages; levels of production capacity and profitable operation of assets; prices of competing products; natural disasters and acts of terrorism; and maintaining the operations of our existing production facilities. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed herein. Results of operations in any past period should not be considered indicative of results to be expected in future periods. Fluctuations in operating results may result in fluctuations in the price of our common stock. For a more complete description of the prominent risks and uncertainties inherent in our business, see our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004.