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BEFORE THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA \ ~i9g9?,~/
 ~

In the Matter of ) 

) Docket No. 9327 

Polypore International, Inc. 

a corporation 

) 

) 

) 

) Public Documentl 

RESPONDENT'S FIRST REQUEST FOR ADMISSIONS 

Pursuant to Rule 3.32 of the Rules of 
 The Federal Trade Commission and the Scheduling 

Order dated October 22, 2008 that the Federal Trade Commission ("FTC") respond to the 

following request within ten days (10) after service of these requests.
 

DEFINITIONS 

Unless otherwise stated, the terms set forth below are defined as follows: 

1. "FTC," "you" and/or "your" shall mean the Federal Trade Commission, and all
 

other persons acting on their behalf, including legal counsel and its agents. 

2. "Polypore" or "Respondent" shall mean Respondent, Polypore, as defined in
 

Complaint Counsel's First Set of Interrogatories to Respondent Polypore
 

International, Inc., including Daramic LLC. 

3. "Microporous" shall mean Microporous Products, L.P., as defined in Complaint
 

Counsel's First Set of Interrogatories to Respondent Polypore International, Inc. 

4. "Polypore matter" means the investigation conducted by the FTC under Rule No.
 

081-0131 and this Administrative Proceeding, Docket No. 9327. .
 

5. "Investigation" means any FTC investigation, whether formal or informal, public
 

or non-public involving Polypore or Microporous. 

6. "Party" means Polypore and/or Microporous.
 

7. "Complaint" means the Complaint issued by the Federal Trade Commission to
 

Polypore International, Inc. in Docket No. 9327. 

i Respondent's First Request for Admissions refers to and contains information identified as "Confidential Material" 

under the terms of the Protective Order entered in this matter. Such "Confidential Material" has been highlighted in the 

complete version of Respondent's First Request for Admissions and has been redacted and labeled "(Redacted - Subject to 

Protective Order)" in the public version of Respondent's First Request for Admissions. 

PPAB 1523075vl 
8. "Document" and/or "documents" shall mean all written or printed matter of any 

kind including the originals and all non-identical copies thereof, whether different 

from the originals by reason of any notation made on such copies or otherwise, 

including without limitation: minutes, agendas, bils, contracts, leases, 

assignments, agreements, reports of any sort, summaries, inner-office and interoffice communications, offers, notations of any sort of any sort of conversation, 

diaries, appointments books or calendars, teletype, telefax, thermofax, 

confirmations, computer data (including E-Mail and all other information or 

programs stored in the computer whether or not ever printed or displayed), 

statistics, graphs, minutes, lists, appraisals, brochures, pamphlets, advertising, 

marketing, or promotional materials; all drafts, alterations, modifications, changes 

and amendments of any of the foregoing; all graphics or manual records or 

representations of any kind, including, without limitation, photographs,
 

microfim, videotape records, motion pictures and electronic, mechanical or 

electric records or representations of any kind including, without limitation, tapes, 

cassettes, discs, disk drives, magnetic cards and recordings. 

REQUEST FOR ADMISSION 

1. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

2. Admit that there is no basis in fact to the allegation of Paragraph 30 of the 

Complaint that "the major customer has been testing this new product (to compete with 

Daramic's separators for the UPS market) and had contracted with Microporous for the supply of 

this product. Microporous had secured significant market share as a result of its contract." 

RESPONSE: 

3. Admit that at the time of the filing of the Complaint, Microporous did not have a 

patent on or covering its Ace-Sil product. 

RESPONSE: 

4. Admit that at the time of the fiing of the Complaint, Microporous did not have a 

patent on or covering its Flex-Sil product. 

" RESPONSE: 

5.	 (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order). 

2 

PPAB 1523075vl 
RESPONSE: 

6. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

7. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

8. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

9. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

10. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

11. Admit that industrial battery separators can be made on the same manufacturing 

line that produces automotive battery separators without substantial alteration or adjustment of 

the production line. 

RESPONSE: 

12. Admit that as of 
 the time the FTC fied the Complaint, the FTC had been told by a 

part other than Polypore as part of its investigation that there are no technological barriers to 

producing industrial battery separators on the same manufacturing line that produces automotive 

battery separators.
 

RESPONSE: 

13. Admit that there are no technological barriers to producing industrial battery 

separators and automotive battery separators on the same manufacturing line. 

RESPONSE: 

14. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

3 

PPAB 1523075vl 
RESPONSE: 

15. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

16. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

17. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

18. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

19. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

20. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

21. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

22. Admit that some manufacturers of batteries for automotive application, wherever 

located in the world, purchase absorptive glass mat ("AGM") battery separators for use in those 

batteries. 

RESPONSE: 

23. Admit that some manufacturers of batteries for industrial application, wherever 

located in the world, purchase AGM battery separators for use in those batteries. 

RESPONSE: 

batteries for UPS application, wherever located 

in the world, purchase AGM battery separators for use in those batteries. 

4 

24. Admit that some manufacturers of 


PPAB 1523075vl 
RESPONSE:
 

25. Admit that some manufacturers of batteries for deep cycle application, wherever 

located in the world, purchase AGM battery separators for use in those batteries. 

RESPONSE: 

26. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

27. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

28. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

29. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

30. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

31. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

32. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

33. Admit that there__ are_l1Q_Jt~hnological or other barrier to maintaining on 

consignment a supply of battery separators for industrial, automotive, UPS or deep cycle 

application. 

RESPONSE: 

34. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

5 

PPAB 1523075vl 
35. Admit that manufacturers of batteries for industrial, motive, deep cycle and/or 

automotive applications have tested and approved separators manufactured by companies other 

than Respondent in less than two years. 

RESPONSE: 

36. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

37. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

38. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

39. Admit that prior to the filing of the Complaint, the cost associated with shipping 

battery separators from China to the West Coast of 
 the United States is very minimaL. 

RESPONSE: 

40. (Redacted - Subject to Protective Order).
 

RESPONSE: 

41. Admit that prior to the filing of the Complaint, batteries shipped in automobiles 

from Japan to the United States contain battery separators manufactured by companies located in 

Asia. 

RESPONSE: 

6 

PPAB 1523075vl 
Dated: January 14,2009 Respectfully Submitted, 

&i,c, D. wds~ / MW 

Wiliam L. Rikard, Jr. i
 

Eric D . Welsh 

PARKER POE ADAMS & BERNSTEIN LLP 

Three Wachovia Center 

401 South Tryon Street, Suite 3000 

Charlotte, NC 28202 

Telephone: (704) 372-9000 

Facsimile: (704) 335-9689 

wiliamrikard(iparkerpoe .com
 

ericwelsh(iparkerpoe.com 

John F. Graybeal 

PARKR POE ADAMS & BERNSTEIN LLP 

150 Fayettevile Street 

Raleigh, NC 27602 

Telephone: (919) 835-4599 

Facsimile: (919) 828-0564 

j ohngraybeal(iparkerpoe.com 

Attorneys for Respondent 

7 

PPAB 1523075vl 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
 

I hereby certify that on January 14, 2009, I caused to be fied via hand delivery and 

electronic mail delivery an original and two copies of the foregoing Respondent's First Request 

for Admissions, and that the electronic copy is a true and correct copy of the paper original and 

that a paper copy with an original signature is being fied with: 

Donald S. Clark, Secretary Office of the Secretary ~ 

Federal Trade Commission 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Rm. H-135 

Washington, DC 20580 

secretary(iftc. gov 

I hereby certify that on January 14, 2009, I caused to be served one copy via electronic 

mail delivery and two copies via overnight mail delivery of the foregoing Respondent's First 

Request for Admissions upon: 

The Honorable D. Michael Chappell 

Administrative Law Judge 

Federal Trade Commission 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20580 

oalj (iftc.gov 

I hereby certify that on January 14, 2009, I caused to be served via First Class Mail and 

electronic mail delivery a copy of the foregoing Respondent's First Request for Admissions to 

the following person(s): 

J. Robert Robertson, Esq. Steven Dahm, Esq. 

Federal Trade Commission Federal Trade Commission 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Washington, DC 20580 Washington, DC 20580 

rro bertson(iftc. gov sdahm(iftc.gov 

~ C. SkL~ /rL~


Adam C. Shearer .
 

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP 

Three Wachovia Center 

401 South Tryon Street, Suite 3000 

Charlotte, NC 28202 

Telephone: (704) 335-9050 

Facsimile: (704) 334-4706 

PPAB 1523075vl