Document:

EX-10.01(a)

Exhibit 10.01(a)

NORDSON CORPORATION

2005 DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN

Effective January 1, 2005

(As Amended and Restated Effective January 1, 2009)

Purpose

The purpose of this 2005 Deferred Compensation Plan, established effective as of January 1,
2005 and amended and restated effective January 1, 2009, is to provide specified benefits to a
select group of management and highly compensated Employees who contribute materially to the
continued growth, development, and future business success of Nordson Corporation, and its
subsidiaries, if any, that sponsor this Plan. This Plan shall be unfunded for tax purposes and for
purposes of Title I of ERISA. This Plan applies to compensation earned, deferred, or vested on and
after January 1, 2005; the Nordson Corporation Deferred Compensation Plan, dated November 3, 2000,
as amended on January 22, 2003, and as in effect on October 3, 2004 (the “2000 Plan”), applies to
compensation earned, deferred, and vested on or before December 31, 2004. No provisions of this
Plan shall alter, affect, or amend any provisions of the 2000 Plan applicable to compensation
earned, deferred, and vested on or before December 31, 2004.

ARTICLE 1

Definitions

For purposes of this Plan, unless otherwise clearly apparent from the context, the following
phrases or terms shall have the following indicated meanings:

	1.1	 	“Account Balance” shall mean, with respect to a Participant, a credit on the records of the
Company equal to the sum of (i) the Deferral Account balance, (ii) the LTIP Deferral Account
balance, (iii) the vested Company Contribution Account balance, and (iv) the Unilateral
Committee Contribution Account balance. The Account Balance, and each other specified account
balance, shall be a bookkeeping entry only and shall be utilized solely as a device for the
measurement and determination of the amounts to be paid to a Participant, or his or her
designated Beneficiary, pursuant to this Plan.

	1.2	 	“Annual Company Contribution Amount” shall mean, for any one Plan Year, the amount determined
in accordance with Section 3.5.

	1.3	 	“Annual Installment Method” shall be an annual installment payment over the number of years
selected by the Participant in accordance with this Plan, calculated as follows: (i) for the
first annual installment, the vested Account Balance of the Participant shall be calculated as
of the close of business on (a) the last business day of the Plan Year in which the
Participant Retires or is deemed to have Retired in accordance with Section 8.1, or (b) the
date on which the Participant experiences a Separation from Service or is deemed to have
experienced a Separation from Service in accordance with Section 8.1, and (ii) for remaining
annual installments, the vested Account Balance of the Participant shall be calculated on
every applicable anniversary of (a) the last business day of the Plan Year in which the
Participant Retires or is deemed to have Retired in accordance with Section 8.1, or (b) the
date on which the Participant experiences a Separation from Service or is deemed to have
experienced a Separation from Service in accordance with Section 8.1. Each annual installment
shall be calculated by multiplying this balance by a fraction, the numerator of which is one
and the denominator of which is the remaining number of annual payments due the Participant.
By way of example, if the Participant elects a ten (10) year Annual Installment Method, the
first payment shall be 1/10 of the vested Account Balance, calculated as described in this
definition. The following year, the payment shall be 1/9 of the vested Account Balance,
calculated as described in this definition.

	1.4	 	“Base Salary” shall mean the annual cash compensation relating to services performed during
any calendar year, whether or not paid in such calendar year or included on the Federal Income
Tax Form W-2 for such calendar year, excluding cash or stock-based incentive payments (whether
discretionary or paid pursuant to a written plan) commissions, overtime, fringe benefits,
stock options, relocation expenses, non-monetary awards, fees, automobile and other allowances
paid to a Participant for employment services rendered (whether or not such allowances are
included in the Employee’s gross income). Base Salary shall be calculated before reduction
for compensation voluntarily deferred or contributed by the Participant pursuant to all
qualified or non-qualified plans of any Employer and shall be calculated to include amounts
not otherwise included in the Participant’s gross income under Sections 125, 402(e)(3),
402(h), or 403(b) of the Code pursuant to plans established by any Employer; provided,
however, that all such amounts will be included in compensation only to the extent that, had
there been no such plan, the amount would have been payable in cash to the Employee.

	1.5	 	“Beneficiary” shall mean one or more persons, trusts, estates or other entities, designated
in accordance with Article 9, that are entitled to receive benefits under this Plan upon the
death of a Participant.

	1.6	 	“Beneficiary Designation Form” shall mean the form established from time to time by the
Committee that a Participant completes, signs and returns to the Committee or its designee to
designate one or more Beneficiaries.

	1.7	 	“Board” shall mean the board of directors of the Company.

	1.8	 	“Bonus” shall mean any compensation relating to services performed during any calendar
year(s), whether or not paid in a calendar year or included on the Federal Income Tax Form W-2
for a calendar year, payable to a Participant as an Employee under any Employer’s written
incentive compensation plans, excluding stock options, and restricted or performance stock.

	1.9	 	“Change in Control” shall mean an event described below occurring at any time after the date
of the adoption of this Plan:

(i) a report is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on
Schedule 13D or Schedule 14D-1 (or any successor schedule, form, or report), each as
promulgated pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, disclosing that any “person”
(as the term “person” is used in Section 13(d) or Section 14(d)(2) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934) is or has become a beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of
securities of the Company representing 25% or more of the combined voting power of the
Company’s then outstanding securities;

(ii) The Company files a report or proxy statement with the SEC pursuant to the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 disclosing that a Change in Control of the Company has or
may have occurred or will or may occur in the future pursuant to any then-existing contract
or transaction;

(iii) The Company is merged or consolidated with another corporation and, as a result
thereof, securities representing less than 50% of the combined voting power of the surviving
or resulting corporation’s securities (or the securities of a parent corporation in case of
a merger in which the surviving or resulting corporation becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary
of the parent corporation) are owned in the aggregate by holders of the Company’s securities
immediately before such merger or consolidation;

(iv) all or substantially all of the assets of the Company are sold in a single
transaction or a series of related transactions to a single purchaser or a group of
affiliated purchasers; or

(v) during any period of 24 consecutive months, individuals who were Directors of the
Company at the beginning of the period cease to constitute at least a majority of the Board
unless the election, or nomination for election by the Company’s shareholders, of more than
one half of any new Directors of the Company was approved by a vote of at least two-thirds
of the Directors of the Company then still in office who were Directors of the Company at
the beginning of the 24 month period.

	1.10	 	“Claimant” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 14.1.

	1.11	 	“Code” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as it may be amended from time to time.

	1.12	 	“Committee” shall mean the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of the Company or
its designee.

	1.13	 	“Company” shall mean Nordson Corporation, an Ohio corporation its corporate successors, the
surviving corporation resulting from any merger of the Company and any other corporation or
corporations and any successor to all or substantially all of the Company’s assets or
business.

	1.14	 	“Company Contribution Account” shall mean (i) the sum of the Participant’s Annual Company
Contribution Amounts, plus (ii) amounts credited in accordance with all the applicable
crediting provisions of this Plan that relate to the Participant’s Company Contribution
Account, less (iii) all distributions made to the Participant or his or her Beneficiary
pursuant to this Plan that relate to the Participant’s Company Contribution Account.

	1.15	 	“Deduction Limitation” shall mean the following described limitation on a benefit that may
otherwise be distributable pursuant to the provisions of this Plan. Except as otherwise
provided, this limitation shall be applied to all distributions that are “subject to the
Deduction Limitation” under this Plan. If an Employer determines in good faith prior to a
Change in Control that there is a reasonable likelihood that any compensation paid to a
Participant for a taxable year of the Employer would not be deductible by the Employer solely
by reason of the limitation under Section 162(m) of the Code, then to the extent deemed
necessary by the Employer to ensure that the entire amount of any distribution to the
Participant pursuant to this Plan prior to a Change in Control is deductible, the Employer may
defer all or any portion of a distribution under this Plan. Any amounts deferred pursuant to
this limitation shall continue to be credited/debited with additional amounts in accordance
with Section 3.9 below, even if such amount is being paid out in installments. The amounts so
deferred and amounts credited thereon shall be distributed to the Participant or his or her
Beneficiary (in the event of the Participant’s death) during the Participant’s first taxable
year in which the Employer reasonably anticipates, or should reasonably anticipate, that if
payment is made during such year, the deduction of such payment will not be barred by the
application of Section 162(m) of the Code or during the period beginning with the date of the
Participant’s Separation from Service and ending on the later of the last day of the taxable
year of the Employer in which the Participant has a Separation from Service or the 15th day of
the 3rd month following the Participant’s Separation from Service; provided however that where
any scheduled payment to a particular Participant in the Employer’s taxable year is delayed,
the delay in payment will be treated as a subsequent deferral election (in accordance with
Section 4.1 or 5.4) unless all scheduled payments to that Participant that could be delayed
are so delayed; and provided further however, that where the payment is delayed to a date on
or after the Participant’s Separation from Service, the payment will be considered a payment
upon a Separation from Service and for purposes of a Specified Employee, subject to a six
month delay (as described in Section 5.5 or 7.3). Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
this Plan, the Deduction Limitation shall not apply to any distributions made after a Change
in Control.

	1.16	 	“Deferral Account” shall mean (i) the sum of all of a Participant’s Deferral Amounts, plus
(ii) amounts credited in accordance with all of the applicable crediting provisions of this
Plan that relate to the Participant’s Deferral Account, less (iii) all distributions made to
the Participant or his or her Beneficiary pursuant to this Plan that relate to his or her
Deferral Account.

	1.17	 	“Deferral Amount” shall mean that portion of a Participant’s Base Salary and Bonus that a
Participant elects to have, and is deferred, in accordance with Article 3, for any one Plan
Year. In the event of a Participant’s Retirement, Disability, death or a Separation from
Service prior to the end of a Plan Year, such year’s Deferral Amount shall be the actual
amount withheld prior to such event.

	1.18	 	“Disability” shall mean a period of disability during which a Participant (a) is unable to
engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or
mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or can be expected to last for a
continuous period of not less than 12 months, or (b) is, by reason of any medically
determinable physical or mental impairment which can be expected to result in death or can be
expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months, receiving income
replacement benefits for a period of not less than 3 months under an accident and health plan
covering employees of the Participant’s Employer.

	1.19	 	“Disability Benefit” shall mean the benefit set forth in Article 8.

	1.20	 	“Election Form” shall mean the form established from time to time by the Committee that a
Participant completes, signs and returns to the Committee to make an election under the Plan.

	1.21	 	“Employee” shall mean a person who is an employee of any Employer.

	1.22	 	“Employer(s)” shall mean the Company and any of its subsidiaries (now in existence or
hereafter formed or acquired) that have been selected by the Committee to participate in the
Plan and have adopted the Plan as a sponsor.

	1.23	 	“ERISA” shall mean the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as it may be amended
from time to time.

	1.24	 	“Excess Cash Compensation” shall mean, for any Plan Year, that portion of a Participant’s
cash compensation relating to services performed during any Plan Year, including, without
limitation, Base Salary, Bonus or payments from any incentive plan (whether in cash or in
kind), that the Committee, in its sole discretion, determines is in excess of the amount set
forth in Section 162(m)(1) of the Code. For purposes of this Section 1.24, a Participant’s
cash compensation: (i) shall be calculated after reduction for compensation voluntarily
deferred or contributed by the Participant pursuant to all qualified or non-qualified plans of
any Employer and any amounts not otherwise included in the Participant’s gross income under
Sections 125, 402(e)(3), 402(h), or 403(b) of the Code pursuant to plans established by any
Employer; and (ii) shall not include any distributions from this Plan.

	1.25	 	“Fair Market Value,” with respect to a Nordson Stock as of any given day, shall mean the last
reported closing price for a common share on the National Association of Securities Dealers
Automated Quotation System (“NASDAQ”) for that day or, if there was no sale of common shares
so reported for that day, on the most recently preceding day on which there was such a sale.
If Nordson Stock is not listed or admitted to trading on NASDAQ on any given day, the Fair
Market Value on that day will be as determined by the Committee.

	1.26	 	“LTIP Deferral Account” shall mean (i) the sum of all of a Participant’s LTIP Deferral
Amounts, plus (ii) amounts credited in accordance with all of the applicable crediting
provisions of this Plan that relate to the Participant’s LTIP Deferral Account, less (iii) all
distributions made to the Participant or his or her Beneficiary pursuant to this Plan that
relate to his or her LTIP Deferral Account.

	1.27	 	“LTIP Deferral Amount” shall mean that portion of any LTIP Payment that a Participant elects
to have, and is deferred, in accordance with Article 3A for any one Plan Year.

	1.28	 	“LTIP Payment” shall mean the amount that would otherwise be payable to a Participant for a
Plan Year under the Nordson Corporation 2004 Long-Term Performance Plan (or any successor plan
thereto).

	1.29	 	” NEST” shall mean the Nordson Corporation Employees’ Savings Trust Plan.

	1.30	 	“Nordson Stock” shall mean the common shares of the Company or any other equity securities of
the Company designated by the Committee.

	1.31	 	“Participant” shall mean any Employee (i) who is selected to participate in the Plan,
(ii) who elects to participate in the Plan, (iii) who signs an Election Form and a Beneficiary
Designation Form, (iv) whose signed Election Form and Beneficiary Designation Form are
accepted by the Committee, and (v) who commences participation in the Plan. A spouse or
former spouse of a Participant shall not be treated as a Participant in the Plan or have an
account balance under the Plan, even if he or she has an interest in the Participant’s
benefits under the Plan as a result of applicable law or property settlements resulting from
legal separation or divorce.

	1.32	 	“Plan” shall mean the Nordson Corporation 2005 Deferred Compensation Plan, as amended and
restated effective January 1, 2009 and as further amended from time to time.

	1.33	 	“Plan Year” shall mean a period beginning on January 1 of each calendar year and continuing
through December 31 of such calendar year.

	1.34	 	“Pre-Retirement Survivor Benefit” shall mean the benefit set forth in Article 6.

	1.35	 	“Retirement”, “Retire(s)” or “Retired” shall mean, with respect to an Employee, Separation
from Service for any reason other than death or Disability on or after the attainment of age
fifty-five (55).

	1.36	 	“Retirement Benefit” shall mean the benefit set forth in Article 5.

	1.37	 	“Separation from Service” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1.409A-1(h) of the
Treasury Regulations; provided that in applying Section 1.409A-1(h)(1)(ii) of the Treasury
Regulations, a Separation from Service shall be deemed to occur if the Participant’s Employer
and the Participant reasonably anticipate that the level of bona fide services the Participant
will perform for the Employers (whether as an employee or as an independent contractor) will
permanently decrease to less than 50% of the average level of bona fide services performed by
the Participant for the Employers (whether as an Employee or as an independent contractor)
over the immediately preceding 36-month period (or the full period of services performed for
the Employers if the Participant has been providing services to the Employers for less than 36
months). In the event of a disposition of assets by the Company to an unrelated person, the
Company reserves the discretion to specify (in accordance with Section 1.409A-1(h)(4) of the
Treasury Regulations) whether a Participant who would otherwise experience a Separation from
Service with the Company and the Employers as part of the disposition of assets will be
considered to experience a Separation from Service for purposes of Section 1.409A-1(h) of the
Treasury Regulations.

	1.38	 	“Termination Benefit” shall mean the benefit set forth in Article 7.

	1.39	 	“Trust” shall mean one or more rabbi trusts established by the Company or an Employer in
accordance with Article 15 of this Plan as amended from time to time.

	1.40	 	“Unforeseeable Financial Emergency” shall mean a severe financial hardship to the Participant
resulting from an illness or accident of the Participant, the Participant’s spouse, or a
dependent (as defined in Section 152(a) of the Code) of the Participant, loss of the
Participant’s property due to casualty, or other similar extraordinary and unforeseeable
circumstances arising as a result of events beyond the control of the Participant.

	1.41	 	“Unilateral Committee Contribution Account” shall mean: (i) the sum of all of the
Participant’s Unilateral Committee Contribution Amounts, plus (ii) amounts credited in
accordance with all of the applicable crediting provisions of this Plan that relate to the
Participant’s Unilateral Committee Contribution Account, less (iii) all distributions made to
the Participant or his or her Beneficiary pursuant to this Plan that relate to his or her
Unilateral Committee Contribution Account.

	1.42	 	“Unilateral Committee Contribution Amount” shall mean, for any one Plan Year, the amount
determined in accordance with Section 3.6.

ARTICLE 2

Selection, Enrollment, Eligibility

	2.1	 	Selection by Committee. Participation in the Plan shall be limited to those
employees of an Employer who (i) are officers or key employees of an Employer, (ii) received,
or would have received but for an election to defer compensation under this Plan and any other
plan of the Company, from the Employer aggregate cash compensation for the prior Plan Year (or
calendar year for purposes of the initial Plan Year) of not less than $100,000, or such higher
amount as the Committee may decide from time to time, and (iii) are, upon recommendation of
the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, approved for such participation by
the Committee, in its sole discretion.

	2.2	 	Enrollment Requirements. As a condition to participation, each selected Employee
shall complete, execute and return to the Committee, an Election Form and a Beneficiary
Designation Form, all within 30 days (or such shorter time as the Committee may determine)
after he or she is selected to participate in the Plan. In addition, the Committee shall
establish from time to time such other enrollment requirements as it determines in its sole
discretion are necessary.

	2.3	 	Eligibility; Commencement of Participation. Provided an Employee selected to
participate in the Plan has met all enrollment requirements set forth in this Plan and
required by the Committee, including returning all required documents to the Committee within
thirty (30) days (or such shorter time as the Committee may determine) after he or she is
selected to participate in the Plan, that Employee shall commence participation in the Plan on
the first day of the month following the month in which the Employee completes all enrollment
requirements. If an Employee fails to meet all such requirements within the period required,
that Employee shall not be eligible to participate in the Plan until the first day of the Plan
Year following the delivery to and acceptance by the Committee of the required documents.

	2.4	 	Termination of Participation and/or Deferrals. If the Committee determines in good
faith that a Participant no longer qualifies as a member of a select group of management or
highly compensated employees, as membership in such group is determined in accordance with
Sections 201(2), 301(a)(3) and 401(a)(1) of ERISA, the Committee shall have the right, in its
sole discretion, to prevent the Participant from making future deferral elections.

ARTICLE 3

Deferral Commitments/Company Matching/Crediting/Taxes

	3.1	 	Minimum Deferrals.

	 	(a)	 	Base Salary and Bonus. For each Plan Year, a Participant may elect to
defer, as his or her Deferral Amount, a minimum of at least Five Thousand dollars
($5,000) between his Base Salary and Bonus. If an election is made for less than the
stated minimum amounts, or if no election is made, the amount deferred shall be zero.

	 	(b)	 	Short Plan Year. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a Participant first
becomes a Participant after the first day of a Plan Year, or in the case of the first
Plan Year of the Plan itself, the minimum Base Salary and Bonus deferral shall be an
amount equal to the minimum set forth above, multiplied by a fraction, the numerator of
which is the number of complete months remaining in the Plan Year and the denominator
of which is 12.

	3.2	 	Maximum Deferral.

	 	(a)	 	Base Salary and Bonus. For each Plan Year, a Participant may elect to
defer, as his or her Deferral Amount, Base Salary and/or Bonus up to the following
maximum percentages for each deferral elected:

	 	 	 	 	 
	Deferral	 	Maximum Percentage
	Base Salary
	 	 	100	%
	 
	 	 	 	 
	Bonus
	 	 	100	%
	 
	 	 	 	 

	 	(b)	 	Notwithstanding the foregoing, if a Participant first becomes a Participant
after the first day of a Plan Year, or in the case of the first Plan Year of the Plan
itself, the maximum Deferral Amount, with respect to Base Salary shall be 100% of Base
Salary paid for services to be performed after the date the Participant submits an
Election Form to the Committee for acceptance and the maximum Deferral Amount with
respect to Bonus shall be 100% of Bonus paid for services performed after the date the
Participant submits an Election Form to the Committee for acceptance.

	3.3	 	Election to Defer; Effect of Election Form.

	 	(a)	 	First Plan Year. In connection with a Participant’s commencement of
participation in the Plan, the Participant shall make an irrevocable deferral election
for the Plan Year in which the Participant commences participation in the Plan, along
with such other elections as the Committee deems necessary or desirable under the Plan.
For these elections to be valid, the Election Form must be completed and signed by the
Participant, timely delivered to the Committee (in accordance with Section 2.2 above)
and accepted by the Committee.

	 	(b)	 	Subsequent Plan Years. For each succeeding Plan Year, an irrevocable
deferral election for that Plan Year, and such other elections as the Committee deems
necessary or desirable under the Plan, shall be made by timely delivering to the
Committee, in accordance with its rules and procedures, before the end of the Plan Year
preceding the Plan Year for which the election is made, or at such other time as the
Committee may determine from time to time, a new Election Form. If no such Election
Form is timely delivered for a Plan Year, the Deferral Amount shall be zero for that
Plan Year.

	3.4	 	Withholding of Deferral Amounts. For each Plan Year, the Base Salary portion of the
Deferral Amount shall be withheld from each regularly scheduled Base Salary payroll in equal
amounts, as adjusted from time to time for increases and decreases in Base Salary. The Bonus
portion of the Deferral Amount shall be withheld at the time the Bonus is or otherwise would
be paid to the Participant, whether or not this occurs during the Plan Year itself.

	3.5	 	Annual Company Contribution Amount. For each Plan Year, the Committee, in its sole
discretion, may, but is not required to, credit any amount it desires to any Participant’s
Company Contribution Account under this Plan, which amount shall equal any Annual Company
Contribution Amount for that Participant for that Plan Year. The amount so credited to a
Participant may be smaller or larger than the amount credited to any other Participant, and
the amount credited to any Participant for a Plan Year may be zero, even though one or more
other Participants receive an Annual Company Contribution Amount for that Plan Year. The
Annual Company Contribution Amount described in this Section 3.5, if any, shall be credited on
a date or dates to be determined by the Committee, in its sole discretion.

	3.6	 	Unilateral Committee Contribution Amount. For each Plan Year, the Committee, in its
sole discretion, may, but is not required to, credit any amount, including any Excess Cash
Compensation, to a Participant’s Unilateral Committee Contribution Account under this Plan,
which amount shall be the Participant’s Unilateral Committee Contribution Amount for that Plan
Year. The amount so credited to a Participant may be smaller or larger than the amount
credited to any other Participant, and the amount credited to any Participant for a Plan Year
may be zero, even though one or more other Participants receive a Unilateral Committee
Contribution Amount for that Plan Year. The Unilateral Committee Contribution Amount
described in this Section 3.6, if any, shall be credited on a date or dates to be determined
by the Committee, in its sole discretion.

	3.7	 	Investment of Trust Assets. The Trustee of the Trust shall be authorized, upon
written instructions received from the Committee or investment manager appointed by the
Committee, to invest and reinvest the assets of the Trust in accordance with the applicable
Trust Agreement, including the disposition of Nordson Stock and reinvestment of the proceeds
in one or more investment vehicles designated by the Committee.

	3.8	 	Vesting.

	 	(a)	 	A Participant shall at all times be 100% vested in his or her Deferral Account,
LTIP Deferral Account and Unilateral Committee Contribution Account. A Participant
shall vest in his or her Company Contribution Account in accordance with the same
vesting schedule as set forth in the NEST.

	 	(b)	 	Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Section 3.8, in the
event of a Change in Control, a Participant’s Company Contribution Account shall
immediately become 100% vested (if it is not already vested in accordance with the
above vesting schedules).

	 	(c)	 	Notwithstanding subsection (a), the vesting schedule for a Participant’s
Company Contribution Account shall not be accelerated to the extent that the Committee
determines that such acceleration would cause the deduction limitations of Section 280G
of the Code to become effective. In the event that all of a Participant’s Company
Contribution Account is not vested pursuant to such a determination, the Participant
may request independent verification of the Committee’s calculations with respect to
the application of Section 280G of the Code. In such case, the Committee must provide
to the Participant within 15 business days of such a request an opinion from a
nationally recognized accounting firm selected by the Participant (the “Accounting
Firm”). If the Accounting Firm’s opinion is in agreement with the Committee’s
determination, the opinion shall state that any limitation in the vested percentage
hereunder is necessary to avoid the limits of Section 280G of the Code and contain
supporting calculations. The cost of such opinion shall be paid for by the Company.

	3.9	 	Crediting/Debiting of Account Balances. In accordance with, and subject to, the
rules and procedures that are established from time to time by the Committee, in its sole
discretion, amounts shall be credited or debited to a Participant’s Account Balance in
accordance with the following rules:

	 	(a)	 	Allocation of Deferrals. A Participant, in connection with his or her
deferral election made in accordance with Section 3.3(a) or 3.3(b) above, shall elect,
on the Election Form, one or more Measurement Fund(s) (as described in Section 3.9(c)
below) (other than the Nordson Stock Measurement Fund) to be used to determine the
additional amounts to be credited to his or her Account Balance for each business day
thereof in which the Participant commences participation in the Plan and continuing
thereafter for each subsequent business day in which the Participant participates in
the Plan. Thereafter, the Participant may (but is not required to) elect, either by
submitting an Election Form to the Committee that is accepted by the Committee or
through any other manner approved by the Committee, to (i) add or delete one or more
Measurement Fund(s) (excluding the Nordson Stock Measurement Fund) to be used to
determine the additional amounts to be credited to his or her Account Balance, or (ii)
add or delete one or more Measurement Fund(s), including the Nordson Stock Measurement
Funds, to be used to change the portion of his or her Account Balance allocated to each
previously elected Measurement Fund, all in a manner permitted by the Committee.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, however, any election made in accordance with this
Section 3.9(a) to re-allocate any portion of his Deferral Amount to the Nordson Stock
Measurement Fund shall not be effective unless such election is completed during a
window period, as specified by the Committee, during which the Participant is not in
possession of any non-public material information.

	 	(b)	 	Proportionate Allocation. In making any election described in Section
3.9(a) above, the Participant shall specify on the Election Form, in increments of five
percentage points (5%), the percentage of his or her Account Balance to be allocated to
a Measurement Fund (as if the Participant was making an investment in that Measurement
Fund with that portion of his or her Account Balance).

	 	(c)	 	Measurement Funds. For the purpose of determining amounts to be
crediting or debited to the Participant’s Account Balance in accordance with this
Article 3, reference shall be made to pre-determined actual investments (each a
“Measurement Fund”). The Committee may, in its sole discretion, discontinue,
substitute or add a Measurement Fund(s), and shall maintain appropriate accounts with
respect to each. Each such action will take effect seven (7) days following the day on
which the Committee gives Participants advance written notice of such change, provided,
however, that prior to such date the prior restrictions of the Plan apply.

The following funds shall be Measurement Funds under the Plan:

	 	•	 	Equity Index Fund

	 	•	 	Large Cap Value Fund

	 	•	 	Large Cap Growth Fund

	 	•	 	International Equity Index

	 	•	 	Money Market Fund

	 	•	 	Investment Contract Fund

	 	•	 	Nordson Stock Measurement Fund

Amounts deferred or transferred by a Participant to the Nordson Stock Measurement
Fund shall be in the form of stock equivalent units (hereinafter referred to as
“Stock Equivalent Units”), the number of which shall be determined by dividing the
amount so deferred or transferred by the Fair Market Value of Nordson Stock at the
time the Participant’s compensation would otherwise have been paid to the
Participant or the transfer is otherwise made, as the case may be. Dividends on the
Stock Equivalent Units credited to a Participant’s Nordson Stock Measurement Fund
account shall be credited to the Participant’s Nordson Stock Measurement Fund
account in the form of additional Stock Equivalent Units, based on the Fair Market
Value of Nordson Stock on the date the dividend is otherwise payable.

	 	(d)	 	Crediting or Debiting Method. The performance of each elected
Measurement Fund (either positive or negative) will be determined by the Committee, in
its reasonable discretion, based on the performance of the Measurement Funds
themselves. A Participant’s Account Balance (whether or not vested, for purposes of
making the adjustments described in this Section 3.9(d)) shall be credited or debited
on a schedule as determined by the Committee in its sole discretion, as though (i) a
Participant’s Account Balance were invested in the Measurement Fund(s) selected by the
Participant, in the percentages applicable to such business day, as of the close of
business on the business day, at the closing price on such date; (ii) the portion of
the Deferral Amount that was actually deferred during any business day were invested in
the Measurement Fund(s) selected by the Participant, in the percentages applicable to
such business day, no later than the close of business on that business day after the
day on which such amounts are actually deferred from the Participant’s Base Salary or
Bonus through reductions in his or her payroll, at the closing price on such date; and
(iii) any distribution made to a Participant that decreases such Participant’s Account
Balance ceased being invested in the Measurement Fund(s), in the percentages applicable
to such business day, no earlier than one business day prior to the distribution, at
the closing price on such date. The Participant’s Company Contributions Amount shall
be credited to his or her Company Contribution Account for purposes of this Section
3.9(d) as of the date(s) determined by the Company, in its sole discretion. The
Participant’s Unilateral Committee Contribution Amount shall be credited to his or her
Unilateral Committee Contribution Account for purposes of this Section 3.9(d) as of the
date(s) determined by the Company, in its sole discretion. Notwithstanding the
foregoing, in the case of the Nordson Stock Measurement Fund, adjustments shall be made
each day to the portion of a Participant’s Account Balance which is expressed in Stock
Equivalent Units to reflect as of that date the number of additional Stock Equivalent
Units resulting from additional deferrals allocated by the Participant to the Nordson
Stock Measurement Fund, transfer allocations by the Participant to the Nordson Stock
Measurement Fund, dividend credits to the Nordson Stock Measurement Fund, and
distributions to the Participant that decrease the portion of such Participant’s
Account Balance reflected by Stock Equivalent Units.

	 	(e)	 	No Actual Investment. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan
that may be interpreted to the contrary, the Measurement Funds are to be used for
measurement purposes only, and a Participant’s election of any such Measurement Fund,
the allocation to his or her Account Balance thereto, the calculation of additional
amounts and the crediting or debiting of such amounts to a Participant’s Account
Balance shall not be considered or construed in any manner as an actual investment of
his or her Account Balance in any such Measurement Fund. In the event that the Company
or the trustee of the Trust, in its own discretion, decides to invest funds in any or
all of the Measurement Funds, no Participant shall have any rights in or to such
investments themselves. Without limiting the foregoing, a Participant’s Account
Balance shall at all times be a bookkeeping entry only and shall not represent any
investment made on his or her behalf by the Company or the Trust; the Participant shall
at all times remain an unsecured creditor of the Company.

	 	(f)	 	Special Rules for Nordson Stock Measurement Fund. Notwithstanding any
provision of this Plan that may be construed to the contrary, an election to allocate
deferrals to the Nordson Stock Measurement Fund may not be revoked and any amounts
allocated to the Nordson Stock Measurement Fund by a Participant can never be
reallocated to any other Measurement Fund(s) in this Plan.

Moreover, no distribution of amounts allocated to the Nordson Stock Measurement Fund
shall be made other than (i) on a fixed date more than six months following the date
of the Participant’s election with respect to Deferral Amounts originally allocated
to the Nordson Stock Measurement Fund, (ii) at the time and in the form of payment
specified by the Participant with respect to any Deferral Amount previously
allocated to another Measurement Fund, but in no event earlier than six months and
one day after the date of the Participant’s election with respect to Deferral
Amounts originally allocated to another Measurement Fund or (iii) automatically on
an earlier date pursuant to the Plan on the Participant’s death, Disability while
eligible to Retire, Retirement, or Separation from Service, provided that in the
event of Separation from Service other than due to Retirement, death or Disability,
such amount shall be paid in a lump sum, notwithstanding the provisions of Section
7.2. Accordingly, the provisions of Sections 4.3 shall not be applicable to any
portion of the Participant’s Account Balance allocated to the Nordson Stock
Measurement Fund, nor shall the provisions of Section 8.1 of this Plan be applicable
to any portion of the Participant’s Account Balance allocated to the Nordson Stock
Measurement Fund in the case of a Participant suffering a Disability prior to the
date he is eligible to Retire.

Finally, when distribution is to be made of amounts allocated to the Nordson Stock
Measurement Fund, Stock Equivalent Units credited to the Participant’s Account
Balance shall be converted to the same number of Shares of Nordson Stock for
distribution to the Participant. Except in the case of a fractional Stock
Equivalent Unit, which shall be paid in cash, all distributions from the Nordson
Stock Measurement Fund shall be made only in the form of Nordson Stock.

	3.10	 	FICA and Other Taxes.

	 	(a)	 	Deferral Amounts. For each Plan Year in which a Deferral Amount is
being withheld from a Participant, the Participant’s Employer(s) shall withhold from
that portion of the Participant’s Base Salary and Bonus that is not being deferred, in
a manner determined by the Employer(s), the Participant’s share of FICA and other
employment taxes on such Deferral Amount. If necessary, the Committee may reduce the
Deferral Amount in order to comply with this Section 3.10.

	 	(b)	 	Company Contribution Amounts. When a Participant becomes vested in a
portion of his or her Company Contribution Account, the Participant’s Employer(s) shall
withhold from the Participant’s Base Salary and/or Bonus that is not deferred, in a
manner determined by the Employer(s), the Participant’s share of FICA and other
employment taxes. If necessary, the Committee may reduce the vested portion of the
Participant’s Company Contribution Account in order to comply with this Section 3.10.

	 	(c)	 	Unilateral Committee Contribution Amounts. When the Participant’s
Employer(s) credits a Unilateral Committee Contribution Amount to a Participant’s
Unilateral Committee Contribution Account, the Participant’s Employer(s) shall withhold
from the Participant’s Base Salary and/or Bonus that is not deferred, in a manner
determined by the Employer(s), the Participant’s share of FICA and other employment
taxes. If necessary, the Committee may reduce the Participant’s Unilateral Committee
Contribution Amount in order to comply with this Section 3.10.

	3.11	 	Distributions. The Participant’s Employer, or the trustee of the Trust, shall
withhold from any payments made to a Participant under this Plan all federal, state and local
income, employment and other taxes required to be withheld by the Employer, or the trustee of
the Trust, in connection with such payments, in amounts and in a manner to be determined in
the sole discretion of the Employer and the trustee of the Trust.

ARTICLE 3A

LTIP Deferral Commitments/Crediting/Taxes

	 	 	3A.1 LTIP Deferrals. For each Plan Year, a Participant may elect to defer, as his or her
LTIP Deferral Amount, an amount equal to a specified dollar amount or a specified percentage
of the LTIP Payment that may be payable to the Participant during such Plan Year. Such
election must be made on an Election Form no later than the earlier of (a) six months before
the end of the performance period to which the LTIP Payment relates or (b) the date of the
Participant’s Separation from Service. For the election to be valid, the Election Form must
be completed and signed by the Participant, timely delivered to the Committee (in accordance
with Section 2.2 above) and accepted by the Committee.

	 	 	3A.2 Crediting/Debiting of LTIP Deferral Account Balances. In accordance with, and
subject to, the rules and procedures that are established from time to time by the Committee,
in its sole discretion, a Participant’s deferral election in accordance with Section 3A.1
shall be (a) an election to defer the LTIP Deferral Amount to the Nordson Stock Measurement
Fund and (b) an election to have additional amounts credited to his or her LTIP Deferral
Account in accordance with Section 3.9 as if the Participant had elected the Nordson Stock
Measurement Fund to be used to determine the additional amounts to be credited to his or her
LTIP Deferral Account.

	 	 	3A.3 FICA and Other Taxes. On the Election Form completed in order to make an LTIP
Deferral, the Participant shall elect to (i) have the amount of the LTIP Payment subject to
the LTIP Deferral reduced by the amount of FICA and other federal, state and local taxes due
on the LTIP Payment thereby reducing the amount of the LTIP Deferral Amount by the sum of the
FICA and other taxes due, (ii) if electing to defer less than 100% of the LTIP Payment, have
the amount of the LTIP Payment not subject to the LTIP Deferral reduced by the amount of FICA
and other federal, state and local taxes due on the LTIP payment thereby authorizing deferral
of the entire percentage of the LTIP Payment elected, or (iii) pay the amount of FICA and
other federal, state and local taxes due on the LTIP Payment to the Company via personal check
on the date that the LTIP Payment would have otherwise been paid to the Participant thereby
authorizing deferral of the entire percentage of the LTIP Payment elected.

ARTICLE 4

Unforeseeable Financial Emergencies;

Withdrawal Election

	4.1	 	Payout/Suspensions for Unforeseeable Financial Emergencies. If the Participant
experiences an Unforeseeable Financial Emergency, the Participant may petition the Committee
to receive a partial or full payout from the Plan. The payout shall not exceed the lesser of
the Participant’s vested Account Balance, calculated as if such Participant were receiving a
Termination Benefit, or the amount reasonably needed to satisfy the Unforeseeable Financial
Emergency plus amounts necessary to pay taxes reasonably anticipated as a result of the
payout, after taking into account the extent to which such Unforeseeable Financial Emergency
is or may be relieved through reimbursement or compensation by insurance or otherwise or by
liquidation of the Participant’s assets (to the extent such liquidation would not itself cause
severe financial hardship). If, subject to the sole discretion of the Committee, the petition
for a suspension and/or payout is approved, suspension shall take effect upon the date of
approval and any payout shall be made within 60 days of the date of approval. The payment of
any amount under this Section 4.3 shall not be subject to the Deduction Limitation.

ARTICLE 5

Retirement Benefit

	5.1	 	Retirement Benefit. Subject to the Deduction Limitation, a Participant who Retires
shall receive, as a Retirement Benefit, his or her vestd Account Balance.

	5.2	 	Payment of Retirement Benefit. A Participant, in connection with his or her
commencement of participation in the Plan, shall elect on an Election Form to receive the
Retirement Benefit in a lump sum or pursuant to an Annual Installment Method of 5, 10 or 15
years. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if the sum of the Participant’s Account
Balance under the Plan, the Participant’s benefit under the Nordson Corporation 2005 Excess
Defined Contribution Retirement Plan and the Participant’s benefit under any other
nonqualified deferred Compensation arrangement that is aggregated with any portion of the Plan
or the Nordson Corporation 2005 Excess Defined Contribution Retirement Plan under Section
1.409A-1(e) of the Treasury Regulations as of the date payment would otherwise commence is
less than or equal to the applicable dollar amount in effect on such date under Section
402(g)(1)(B) of the Code, payment of his or her Retirement Benefit shall be paid in a lump sum
on December 31 of the calendar year in which occurs the Participant’s Separation from Service.
If a Participant does not make any election with respect to the payment of the Retirement
Benefit with respect to the Base Salary, Bonus or LTIP Payment deferred pursuant to a
particular Election Form, the election with respect to payment of the Retirement Benefit on
the most recent previously filed Election Form shall govern, provided however that if a
Participant fails to make any election with respect to the payment of the Retirement Benefit,
then such benefit shall be payable in a lump sum. The lump sum payment shall be made, or
installment payments shall commence, no later than 60 days after the last day of the Plan Year
during which the Participant Retires. Any payment made shall be subject to the Deduction
Limitation.

	5.3	 	Death Prior to Completion of Retirement Benefit. If a Participant dies after
Retirement but before the Retirement Benefit is paid in full, the Participant’s unpaid
Retirement Benefit payments shall continue and shall be paid to the Participant’s Beneficiary
over the remaining number of years and in the same amounts as that benefit would have been
paid to the Participant had the Participant survived. In the event of the death of the
Participant and all of the Participant’s Beneficiaries prior to payment in full of the
Participant’s Retirement Benefit, any remaining Retirement Benefit shall be paid to the estate
of the last to die of the Participant and the Participant’s Beneficiaries.

	5.4	 	Change in Time or Form of Payment. Notwithstanding the method of payment for the
Retirement Benefit elected by a Participant pursuant to Section 5.2, the Participant may elect
to change the time or form of such payment at any time up to 12 months before the first
scheduled payment; provided, however, that (a) any such election shall not be effective for at
least 12 months following the date made; and (b) to the extent required by Section 409A of the
Code, as a result of any such change, payment or commencement of payment shall be delayed for
5 years from the date the first payment was scheduled to have been paid (taking into account
any delay of commencement of payment under Section 5.5 on account of a Participant’s status as
a Specified Employee and any other delay in payment or commencement of payment on account of a
Participant’s election to change the time and form of payment made on or after January 1,
2009).

The form of payment elected in a subsequent election must be a lump sum or an Annual
Installment Method of 5, 10, or 15 years.

	5.5	 	Limitation on Specified Employees. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan
to the contrary, the Retirement Benefit of a Specified Employee of the Company, shall not be
paid or commence to be paid until the date that is six months following the date of such
Specified Employee’s Retirement. On the date that payment is made or payments commence, the
Participant shall receive payment of any amounts that would have otherwise been paid during
the six month delay but for the application of this Section 5.5. For purposes of this Section
5.5 and Section 7.5, Specified Employees shall be determined as of any date in accordance with
the Nordson Corporation Policy for determining Specified Employees.

ARTICLE 6

Pre-Retirement Survivor Benefit

	6.1	 	Pre-Retirement Survivor Benefit. Subject to the Deduction Limitation, the
Participant’s Beneficiary shall receive a Pre-Retirement Survivor Benefit equal to the
Participant’s Account Balance if the Participant dies before he or she Retires, experiences a
Separation from Service or suffers a Disability.

	6.2	 	Payment of Pre-Retirement Survivor Benefit. A Participant’s Beneficiary shall
receive the Pre-Retirement Survivor Benefit in a lump sum. The lump sum payment shall be made
no later than 60 days after the last day of the Plan Year in which the Participant dies. Any
payment made shall be subject to the Deduction Limitation.

ARTICLE 7

Termination Benefit

	7.1	 	Termination Benefit. Subject to the Deduction Limitation, the Participant shall
receive a Termination Benefit, which shall be equal to the Participant’s Account Balance if a
Participant experiences a Separation from Service prior to his or her Retirement, death or
Disability.

	7.2	 	Payment of Termination Benefit. If the sum of the Participant’s Account Balance
under the Plan, the Participant’s benefit under the Nordson Corporation 2005 Excess Defined
Contribution Retirement Plan and the Participant’s benefit under any other nonqualified
deferred compensation arrangement that is aggregated with any portion of the Plan or the
Nordson Corporation 2005 Excess Defined Contribution Retirement Plan under Section 1.409A-1(e)
of the Treasury Regulations at the time of his or her Separation from Service is less than or
equal to the applicable dollar amount in effect on such date under Section 402(g)(1)(B) of the
Code, payment of his or her Termination Benefit shall be paid in a lump sum on December 31 of
the calendar year in which occurs the Participant’s Separation from Service. If his or her
Account Balance at such time is equal to or greater than that amount, the Termination Benefit
shall be paid in a lump sum or pursuant to an Annual Installment Method of 5, 10 or 15 years
as elected by the Participant for the payment of the Retirement Benefit with respect to such
amount. The lump sum payment shall be made, or installment payments shall commence, no later
than 60 days after the Participant experiences the Separation from Service. Any payment made
shall be subject to the Deduction Limitation.

	7.3	 	Death Prior to Completion of Termination Benefit. If a Participant dies after
Separation from Service but before the Termination Benefit is paid in full, the Participant’s
unpaid Termination Benefit payments shall continue and shall be paid to the Participant’s
Beneficiary over the remaining number of years and in the same amounts as that benefit would
have been paid to the Participant had the Participant survived. In the event of the death of
the Participant and all of the Participant’s Beneficiaries prior to payment in full of the
Participant’s Termination Benefit, any remaining Termination Benefit shall be paid to the
estate of the last to die of the Participant and the Participant’s Beneficiaries.

	7.4	 	Limitation on Specified Employees. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan
to the contrary, the Termination Benefit of a Specified Employee of the Company, shall not be
paid or commence to be paid until the date that is six months following the date of such
Specified Employee’s Separation from Service. On the date that payment is made or payments
commence, the Participant shall receive payment of any amounts that would have otherwise been
paid during the six month delay but for the application of this Section 7.4.

ARTICLE 8

Disability Benefit

	8.1	 	Disability Benefit. A Participant suffering a Disability shall, for benefit purposes
under this Plan, be deemed to have experienced a Separation from Service, or in the case of a
Participant who is eligible to Retire to have Retired, as soon as practicable after such
Participant is determined to be suffering a Disability, in which case the Participant shall
receive a Disability Benefit equal to his or her Account Balance provided, however, that
should the Participant otherwise have been eligible to Retire, he or she shall be paid in
accordance with Article 5. The Disability Benefit shall be paid in a lump sum no later than
60 days after the date of the Participant’s Disability. Any payment made shall be subject to
the Deduction Limitation.

ARTICLE 9

Beneficiary Designation

	9.1	 	Beneficiary. Each Participant shall have the right, at any time, to designate his or
her Beneficiary(ies) (both primary as well as contingent) to receive any benefits payable
under the Plan to a Beneficiary upon the death of a Participant. The Beneficiary designated
under this Plan may be the same as or different from the Beneficiary designation under any
other plan of an Employer in which the Participant participates.

	9.2	 	Beneficiary Designation; Change; Spousal Consent. A Participant shall designate his
or her Beneficiary by completing and signing the Beneficiary Designation Form, and returning
it to the Committee or its designated agent. A Participant shall have the right to change a
Beneficiary by completing, signing and otherwise complying with the terms of the Beneficiary
Designation Form and the Committee’s rules and procedures, as in effect from time to time. If
the Participant names someone other than his or her spouse as a Beneficiary, a spousal
consent, in the form designated by the Committee, must be signed by that Participant’s spouse
and returned to the Committee. Upon the acceptance by the Committee of a new Beneficiary
Designation Form, all Beneficiary designations previously filed shall be canceled. The
Committee shall be entitled to rely on the last Beneficiary Designation Form filed by the
Participant and accepted by the Committee prior to the Participant’s death.

	9.3	 	Acknowledgment. No designation or change in designation of a Beneficiary shall be
effective until received and acknowledged in writing by the Committee or its designated agent.

	9.4	 	No Beneficiary Designation. If a Participant fails to designate a Beneficiary as
provided in Sections 9.1, 9.2 and 9.3 above or, if all designated Beneficiaries predecease the
Participant or die prior to complete distribution of the Participant’s benefits, then the
Participant’s designated Beneficiary shall be deemed to be his or her surviving spouse.

	9.5	 	Doubt as to Beneficiary. To the extent permitted by Section 409A of the Code and the
Treasury Regulations issued thereunder, if the Committee has any doubt as to the proper
Beneficiary to receive payments pursuant to this Plan, the Committee shall have the right,
exercisable in its discretion, to cause the Participant’s Employer to withhold such payments
until this matter is resolved to the Committee’s satisfaction.

	9.6	 	Discharge of Obligations. The payment of benefits under the Plan to a Beneficiary
shall fully and completely discharge all Employers and the Committee from all further
obligations under this Plan with respect to the Participant.

ARTICLE 10

Leave of Absence

	10.1	 	Paid Leave of Absence. If a Participant is authorized by the Participant’s Employer
for any reason to take a paid leave of absence from the employment of the Employer for
purposes of military leave, sick leave or other bona fide leave of absence and such period of
leave does not exceed six months or if longer, so long as the Participant retains a right to
reemployment with the Employer under an applicable statue or by contract, the Participant
shall continue to be considered employed by the Employer and the Deferral Amount and LTIP
Deferral Amount shall continue to be withheld during such paid leave of absence in accordance
with Section 3.3 and Section 3.3A.

	10.2	 	Unpaid Leave of Absence. If a Participant is authorized by the Participant’s
Employer for any reason to take an unpaid leave of absence from the employment of the Employer
for purposes of military leave, sick leave or other bona fide leave of absence and such period
of leave does not exceed six months or if longer, so long as the Participant retains a right
to reemployment with the Employer under an applicable statue or by contract, the Participant
shall continue to be considered employed by the Employer and the Participant shall be excused
from making deferrals until the Participant returns to a paid employment status. Upon such
return, deferrals shall resume for the remaining portion of the Plan Year in which the return
occurs, based on the deferral election, if any, made for that Plan Year. If no election was
made for that Plan Year, no deferral shall be withheld.

ARTICLE 11

Termination, Amendment or Modification

	11.1	 	Termination. Although the Company anticipates that it will continue the Plan for an
indefinite period of time, there is no guarantee that the Company will continue the Plan or
will not terminate the Plan at any time in the future. Accordingly, the Company reserves the
right to terminate the Plan at any time with respect to any or all of its participating
Employees as permitted by Section 1.409A-3(j)(4)(ix) of the Treasury Regulations or as
otherwise may be permitted by future Regulations or other guidance under Section 409A of the
Code, by action of the Committee.

	11.2	 	Amendment. The Company may, at any time, amend or modify the Plan in whole or in
part by the action of the Committee; provided, however, that: (i) no amendment or modification
shall be effective to decrease or restrict the value of a Participant’s Account Balance in
existence at the time the amendment or modification is made, calculated as if the Participant
had experienced a Separation from Service as of the effective date of the amendment or
modification or, if the amendment or modification occurs after the date upon which the
Participant was eligible to Retire, the Participant had Retired as of the effective date of
the amendment or modification, and (ii) no amendment or modification of this Section 11.2 or
Section 12.2 of the Plan shall be effective. The amendment or modification of the Plan shall
not affect any Participant or Beneficiary who has become entitled to the payment of benefits
under the Plan as of the date of the amendment or modification. The Company specifically
reserves the right to amend the Plan to conform the provisions of the Plan to the guidance
issued by the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to Section 409A of the Code, in
accordance with such guidance.

	11.3	 	Effect of Payment. The full payment of the applicable benefit under Articles 4, 5,
6, 7 or 8 of the Plan shall completely discharge all obligations to a Participant and his or
her designated Beneficiaries under this Plan.

ARTICLE 12

Administration

	12.1	 	Committee Duties. This Plan will be administered by the Committee. The Committee
will, subject to the terms of this Plan, have the authority to: (i) approve for participation
employees who are recommended for participation by the president and Chief Executive Officer
of the Company, (ii) adopt, alter, and repeal administrative rules and practices governing
this Plan, (iii) interpret the terms and provisions of this Plan, and (iv) otherwise supervise
the administration of this Plan. All decisions by the Committee will be made with the
approval of not less than a majority of its members. The Committee may delegate any of its
authority to any other person or persons that it deems appropriate, provided the delegation
does not cause this Plan or any awards granted under this Plan to fail to qualify for the
exemption provided by Rule 16b-3, or, if applicable, to meet the requirements of the
regulations under Section 162(m) of the Code.

	12.2	 	Administration Upon Change In Control. For purposes of this Plan, the Company shall
be the “Administrator” at all times prior to the occurrence of a Change in Control. Upon and
after the occurrence of a Change in Control, the “Administrator” shall be an independent third
party selected by the trustee of the Trust and approved by the individual who, immediately
prior to such event, was the Company’s Chief Executive Officer or, if not so identified, the
Company’s then highest ranking officer (the “Ex-Chief Executive Officer”). The Administrator
shall have the discretionary power to determine all questions arising in connection with the
administration of the Plan and the interpretation of the Plan and Trust including, but not
limited to benefit entitlement determinations; provided, however, upon and after the
occurrence of a Change in Control, the Administrator shall have no power to direct the
investment of Plan or Trust assets or select any investment manager or custodial firm for the
Plan or Trust. Upon and after the occurrence of a Change in Control, the Company must: (1)
pay all reasonable administrative expenses and fees of the Administrator; (2) indemnify the
Administrator against any costs, expenses and liabilities including, without limitation,
attorney’s fees and expenses arising in connection with the performance of the Administrator
hereunder, except with respect to matters resulting from the gross negligence or willful
misconduct of the Administrator or its employees or agents; and (3) supply full and timely
information to the Administrator or all matters relating to the Plan, the Trust, the
Participants and their Beneficiaries, the Account Balances of the Participants, the date of
circumstances of the Retirement, Disability, death or Separation from Service of the
Participants, and such other pertinent information as the Administrator may reasonably
require. Upon and after a Change in Control, the Administrator may be terminated (and a
replacement appointed) by the trustee of the Trust only with the approval of the Ex-Chief
Executive Officer. Upon and after a Change in Control, the Administrator may not be
terminated by the Company.

	12.3	 	Agents. In the administration of this Plan, the Committee may, from time to time,
employ agents and delegate to them such administrative duties as it sees fit (including acting
through a duly appointed representative) and may from time to time consult with counsel who
may be counsel to any Employer.

	12.4	 	Binding Effect of Decisions. All decisions by the Committee, and by any other person
or persons to whom the Committee has delegated authority, shall be final and conclusive and
binding upon all persons having any interest in the Plan.

	12.5	 	Indemnity of Committee. The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the members
of the Committee, and any Employee to whom the duties of the Committee may be delegated, and
the Administrator against any and all claims, losses, damages, expenses or liabilities arising
from any action or failure to act with respect to this Plan, except in the case of willful
misconduct by the Committee, any of its members, any such Employee or the Administrator.

	12.6	 	Employer Information. To enable the Committee and/or Administrator to perform its
functions, the Company and each Employer shall supply full and timely information to the
Committee and/or Administrator, as the case may be, on all matters relating to the
compensation of its Participants, the date and circumstances of the Retirement, Disability,
death or Separation from Service of its Participants, and such other pertinent information as
the Committee or Administrator may reasonably require.

ARTICLE 13

Other Benefits and Agreements

	13.1	 	Coordination with Other Benefits. The benefits provided for a Participant and
Participant’s Beneficiary under the Plan are in addition to any other benefits available to
such Participant under any other plan or program for employees of the Participant’s Employer.
The Plan shall supplement and shall not supersede, modify or amend any other such plan or
program except as may otherwise be expressly provided.

ARTICLE 14

Claims Procedures

	14.1	 	Presentation of Claim. Any Participant or Beneficiary of a deceased Participant
(such Participant or Beneficiary being referred to below as a “Claimant”) may deliver to the
Committee a written claim for a determination with respect to the amounts distributable to
such Claimant from the Plan. If such a claim relates to the contents of a notice received by
the Claimant, the claim must be made within 60 days after such notice was received by the
Claimant. All other claims must be made within 180 days of the date on which the event that
caused the claim to arise occurred. The claim must state with particularity the determination
desired by the Claimant.

	14.2	 	Notification of Decision. The Committee shall consider a Claimant’s claim within a
reasonable time, and shall notify the Claimant in writing:

	 	(a)	 	that the Claimant’s requested determination has been made, and that the claim
has been allowed in full; or

	 	(b)	 	that the Committee has reached a conclusion contrary, in whole or in part, to
the Claimant’s requested determination, and such notice must set forth in a manner
calculated to be understood by the Claimant:

	 	(i)	 	the specific reason(s) for the denial of the claim, or any part
of it;

	 	(ii)	 	specific reference(s) to pertinent provisions of the Plan upon
which such denial was based;

	 	(iii)	 	a description of any additional material or information
necessary for the Claimant to perfect the claim, and an explanation of why such
material or information is necessary; and

	 	(iv)	 	an explanation of the claim review procedure set forth in
Section 14.3 below.

	14.3	 	Review of a Denied Claim. Within 60 days after receiving a notice from the Committee
that a claim has been denied, in whole or in part, a Claimant (or the Claimant’s duly
authorized representative) may file with the Committee a written request for a review of the
denial of the claim. Thereafter, but not later than 30 days after the review procedure began,
the Claimant (or the Claimant’s duly authorized representative):

	 	(a)	 	may review pertinent documents; and/or

	 	(b)	 	may submit written comments or other documents.

	14.4	 	Decision on Review. The Committee shall render its decision on review promptly, and
not later than 60 days after the filing of a written request for review of the denial, unless
special circumstances require additional time, in which case the Committee’s decision must be
rendered within 120 days after such date. Such decision must be written in a manner
calculated to be understood by the Claimant, and it must contain:

	 	(a)	 	specific reasons for the decision;

	 	(b)	 	specific reference(s) to the pertinent Plan provisions upon which the decision
was based; and

	 	(c)	 	such other matters as the Committee deems relevant.

	14.5	 	Legal Action. A Claimant’s compliance with the foregoing provisions of this
Article 14 is a mandatory prerequisite to a Claimant’s right to commence any legal action with
respect to any claim for benefits under this Plan.

ARTICLE 15

Trust

	15.1	 	Establishment of the Trust. The Company may establish one or more Trusts to which
the Company may transfer such assets as the Company determines in its sole discretion to
assist in meeting its obligations under the Plan.

	15.2	 	Interrelationship of the Plan and the Trust. The provisions of the Plan shall govern
the rights of a Participant to receive distributions pursuant to the Plan. The provisions of
the Trust shall govern the rights of the Company, Participants and the creditors of the
Employers to the assets transferred to the Trust.

	15.3	 	Distributions From the Trust. Each Employers obligations under the Plan may be
satisfied with Trust assets distributed pursuant to the terms of the Trust, and any such
distribution shall reduce the Company’s obligations under this Plan.

	15.4	 	Stock Transferred to the Trust. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Plan or
the Trust, any Stock transferred to the Trust in accordance with Section 3.7 may not be
otherwise distributed or disposed of by the Trustee until at least 6 months after the date
such Stock is transferred to the Trust.

ARTICLE 16

Miscellaneous

	16.1	 	Status of Plan. The Plan is intended to be a plan that is not qualified within the
meaning of Section 401(a) of the Code and that “is unfunded and is maintained by an employer
primarily for the purpose of providing deferred compensation for a select group of management
or highly compensated employees” within the meaning of Sections 201(2), 301(a)(3) and
401(a)(1) of ERISA. The Plan shall be administered and interpreted to the extent possible in
a manner consistent with that intent.

	16.2	 	Unsecured General Creditor. Participants and their Beneficiaries, heirs, successors
and assigns shall have no legal or equitable rights, interests or claims in any property or
assets of the Company or an Employer. For purposes of the payment of benefits under this
Plan, any and all of the Company’s or an Employer’s assets shall be, and remain, the general,
unpledged unrestricted assets of the Company or an Employer, respectively. The Company’s or
an Employer’s obligation under the Plan shall be merely that of an unfunded and unsecured
promise to pay money in the future.

	16.3	 	Employer’s Liability. An Employer’s liability for the payment of benefits shall be
defined only by the Plan. An Employer shall have no obligation to a Participant under the
Plan except as expressly provided in the Plan.

	16.4	 	Nonassignability. Except in the case of a domestic relations order within the
meaning of Section 414(p)(1)(B) of the Code, neither a Participant nor any other person shall
have any right to commute, sell, assign, transfer, pledge, anticipate, mortgage or otherwise
encumber, transfer, hypothecate, alienate or convey in advance of actual receipt, the amounts,
if any, payable hereunder, or any part thereof, which are, and all rights to which are
expressly declared to be, unassignable and non-transferable. Except in the case of a domestic
relations order within the meaning of Section 414(p)(1)(B) of the Code, no part of the amounts
payable shall, prior to actual payment, be subject to seizure, attachment, garnishment or
sequestration for the payment of any debts, judgments, alimony or separate maintenance owed by
a Participant or any other person, be transferable by operation of law in the event of a
Participant’s or any other person’s bankruptcy or insolvency or be transferable to a spouse as
a result of a property settlement or otherwise.

	16.5	 	Not a Contract of Employment. The terms and conditions of this Plan shall not be
deemed to constitute a contract of employment between any Employer and the Participant, either
expressed or implied. Such employment is hereby acknowledged to be an “at will” employment
relationship that can be terminated at any time for any reason, or no reason, with or without
cause, and with or without notice, unless expressly provided in a written employment
agreement. Nothing in this Plan shall be deemed to give a Participant the right to be
retained in the service of any Employer, or to interfere with the right of any Employer to
discipline or discharge the Participant at any time.

	16.6	 	Furnishing Information. A Participant or his or her Beneficiary will cooperate with
the Committee by furnishing any and all information requested by the Committee and take such
other actions as may be requested in order to facilitate the administration of the Plan and
the payments of benefits hereunder, including but not limited to taking such physical
examinations as the Committee may deem necessary.

	16.7	 	Terms. Whenever any words are used herein in the masculine, they shall be construed
as though they were in the feminine in all cases where they would so apply; and whenever any
words are used herein in the singular or in the plural, they shall be construed as though they
were used in the plural or the singular, as the case may be, in all cases where they would so
apply.

	16.8	 	Captions. The captions of the articles, sections and paragraphs of this Plan are for
convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or construction of any of its
provisions.

	16.9	 	Governing Law. Subject to ERISA, the provisions of this Plan shall be construed and
interpreted according to the internal laws of the State of Ohio without regard to its
conflicts of laws principles.

	16.10	 	Notice. Any notice or filing required or permitted to be given to the Committee
under this Plan shall be sufficient if in writing and hand-delivered, or sent by registered or
certified mail, to the address below:

Robert E. Veillette

Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary

Nordson Corporation

28601 Clemens Road

Westlake, Ohio 44145

Such notice shall be deemed given as of the date of delivery or, if delivery is made by
mail, as of the date shown on the postmark on the receipt for registration or certification.

Any notice or filing required or permitted to be given to a Participant under this Plan
shall be sufficient if in writing and hand-delivered, or sent by mail, to the last known
address of the Participant.

	16.11	 	Successors. The provisions of this Plan shall bind and inure to the benefit of the
Company and its successors and assigns and the Participant and the Participant’s designated
Beneficiaries.

	16.12	 	Spouse’s Interest. The interest in the benefits hereunder of a spouse of a
Participant who has predeceased the Participant shall automatically pass to the Participant
and shall not be transferable by such spouse in any manner, including but not limited to such
spouse’s will, nor shall such interest pass under the laws of intestate succession.

	16.13	 	Validity. In case any provision of this Plan shall be illegal or invalid for any
reason, said illegality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining parts hereof, but this
Plan shall be construed and enforced as if such illegal or invalid provision had never been
inserted herein.

	16.14	 	Incompetent. If the Committee determines in its discretion that a benefit under
this Plan is to be paid to a minor, a person declared incompetent or to a person incapable of
handling the disposition of that person’s property, the Committee may direct payment of such
benefit to the guardian, legal representative or person having the care and custody of such
minor, incompetent or incapable person. The Committee may require proof of minority,
incompetence, incapacity or guardianship, as it may deem appropriate prior to distribution of
the benefit. Any payment of a benefit shall be a payment for the account of the Participant
and the Participant’s Beneficiary, as the case may be, and shall be a complete discharge of
any liability under the Plan for such payment amount.

	16.15	 	Court Order. The Committee is authorized to make any payments directed by court
order in any action in which the Plan or the Committee has been named as a party. In
addition, if a court determines that a spouse or former spouse of a Participant has an
interest in the Participant’s benefits under the Plan in connection with a property settlement
or otherwise, the Committee, in its sole discretion, shall have the right, notwithstanding any
election made by a Participant, to immediately distribute the spouse’s or former spouse’s
interest in the Participant’s benefits under the Plan to that spouse or former spouse.

	16.16	 	Insurance. The Company, on its own behalf or on behalf of the trustee of the
Trust, and, in its sole discretion, may apply for and procure insurance on the life of the
Participant, in such amounts and in such forms as the Trust may choose. The Company or the
trustee of the Trust, as the case may be, shall be the sole owner and beneficiary of any such
insurance. The Participant shall have no interest whatsoever in any such policy or policies,
and at the request of the Company shall submit to medical examinations and supply such
information and execute such documents as may be required by the insurance company or
companies to whom the Company has applied for insurance.

	16.17	 	Legal Fees To Enforce Rights After Change in Control. The Company is aware that
upon the occurrence of a Change in Control, the Board or a shareholder of the Company, or of
any successor corporation might then cause or attempt to cause the Company, or such successor
to refuse to comply with its obligations under the Plan and might cause or attempt to cause
the Company to institute, or may institute, litigation seeking to deny Participants the
benefits intended under the Plan. In these circumstances, the purpose of the Plan could be
frustrated. Accordingly, if, within the first five (5) years following a Change in Control,
it should appear to any Participant that the Company or any successor corporation has failed
to comply with any of its obligations under the Plan or any agreement thereunder or, if the
Company or any other person takes any action to declare the Plan void or unenforceable or
institutes any litigation or other legal action designed to deny, diminish or to recover from
any Participant the benefits intended to be provided, then the Company hereby irrevocably
authorizes such Participant to retain counsel of his or her choice at the expense of the
Company to represent such Participant in connection with the initiation or defense of any
litigation or other legal action, whether by or against the Company or any director, officer,
shareholder or other person affiliated with the Company or any successor thereto in any
jurisdiction. The Company’s reimbursement of the Participant’s legal fees and expenses
pursuant to this Section 16.17 shall be made on or before the last day of the calendar year
following the calendar year in which such legal fees are incurred. The amount of legal fees
and expenses eligible for reimbursement during any calendar year shall not affect the amount
of legal fees and expenses eligible for reimbursement during any other calendar year, and the
right to reimbursement shall not be subject to liquidation or exchange for another benefit.

	16.18	 	Permissible Accelerations. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the
contrary, in accordance with Section 1.409A-3(j)(4) of the Treasury Regulations, the Company
may, in its sole discretion, cause payments to or on behalf of a Participant to be accelerated
(i) to the extent necessary to fulfill a domestic relations order (as defined in Section
414(p)(1)(B) of the Code, (ii) to the extent necessary for any Federal officer or employee in
the executive branch to comply with an ethics agreement with the Federal government, (iii) to
the extent reasonably necessary to avoid the violation of an applicable Federal, state, local,
or foreign ethics law or conflicts of interest law (including where such payment is reasonably
necessary to permit the Participant or Beneficiary to participate in activities in the normal
course of his or her position in which a Participant or Beneficiary would otherwise not be
able to participate under an applicable rule); (iv) to pay FICA taxes on any amounts deferred
under the Plan and any state, local or foreign income tax withholding related to such FICA
tax, (v) at any time the Plan fails to meet the requirements of Section 409A of the Code and
the Treasury Regulations thereunder; provided however that the amount of the accelerated
payment may not exceed the amount required to be included as a result of the failure to comply
with Section 409A of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder; (vi) where the
acceleration of the payment is made pursuant to a termination and liquidation of the Plan in
accordance with Section 1.409A-3(j)(4)(ix) of the Treasury Regulations; (vii) to reflect
payment of state, local or foreign tax obligations arising from participation in the Plan that
apply to the amount deferred under the Plan before the amount is paid or made available to the
Participant or Beneficiary; provided such payment may not exceed the amount of such taxes due
as a result of participation in the Plan; (viii) as satisfaction of a debt of the Participant
or Beneficiary to the Company in accordance with Section 1.409A-3(j)(4)(xiii) of the Treasury
Regulations and (ix) where such payment occurs as a part of a settlement between the
Participant or the Beneficiary and the Company of an arm’s length, bona fide dispute as to the
Participant’s or Beneficiary’s right to the deferred amount.

	16.19	 	Compliance with Section 409A of the Code. The Plan is intended to provide for the
deferral of compensation in accordance with Section 409A of the Code for compensation earned,
vested, or deferred after December 31, 2004. Notwithstanding any provisions of the Plan or
any Election Form to the contrary, no otherwise permissible election under the Plan shall be
given effect that would result in the taxation of any amount under Section 409A of the Code.
To the extent permitted in guidance issued by the Secretary of the Treasury and in accordance
with procedures established by the Committee, Participants were permitted to terminate
participation in the Plan or cancel an election with respect deferral elections made under the
Plan prior to January 1, 2005.

	16.20	 	Transition Elections. Notwithstanding any other elections made hereunder and only
to the extent permitted by the Company and transition rules issued under Section 409A of the
Code, through such dates as specified by the Company pursuant to transitional guidance issued
under Section 409A of the Code, Participants have been permitted to make one or more elections
as to the time and form of payment of their Account Balance under the Plan to be paid in cash
and one or more elections as to the time and form of payment of their Account Balance to be
paid in Nordson Stock, provided that (a) any such elections made during 2005 were only
available for amounts that were payable after the 2005 calendar year and could not accelerate
any payments into the 2005 calendar year, (b) any such elections made during 2006 were only
available for amounts that were payable after the 2006 calendar year and could not accelerate
any payments into the 2006 calendar year, (c) any such elections made during 2007 were only
available for amounts that were payable after the 2007 calendar year and could not accelerate
any payments into the 2007 calendar year, and (d) any such elections made during 2008 were
only available for amounts that were payable after the 2008 calendar year and could not
accelerate any payments into the 2008 calendar year.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has signed this Plan document on      , 2008.

NORDSON CORPORATION

Nordson Corporation, an Ohio corporation

	 	 	 	 	 
	By:
	 	 	—	 
	Title:
	 	 	—EX-10.01(b)

Exhibit 10.01(b)

NORDSON CORPORATION

AMENDED AND RESTATED 2005 SUPPLEMENTAL

EXECUTIVE RETIREMENT PLAN

[Defined Benefit]

Nordson Corporation hereby establishes, effective as of January 1, 2009, the Nordson
Corporation Amended and Restated 2005 Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan [Defined Benefit]
(“Plan”) to supplement the pension benefits of certain salaried employees designated by the
Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors or its designee eligible to participate in the
Plan in accordance with the terms hereof, as permitted by Section 3(36) of the Employee Retirement
Income Security Act of 1974 (“ERISA”), with respect to compensation earned for services performed
by such employees for the Company or an Employer or vested after December 31, 2004. The Nordson
Corporation Excess Defined Benefit Pension Plan established effective as of November 1, 1985 (the
“1985 Plan”) supplements the pension benefits of such employees with respect to compensation earned
for services performed for the Company or an Employer and vested before January 1, 2005. No
provisions of this Plan shall alter, affect, or amend any provisions of the 1985 Plan applicable to
compensation earned, deferred, and vested on or before December 31, 2004.

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

1.1 Definitions. The following words and phrases shall have the meanings indicated, unless a
different meaning is plainly required by the context:

(a) The term “Beneficiary” shall mean one or more persons, trusts, estates or other entities
designated in accordance with Article VII, that are entitled to receive excess pension benefits
under this Plan upon the death of the Employee.

(b) The term “Code” shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to
time. Reference to a section of the Code shall include such section and any comparable section or
sections of any future legislation that amends, supplements, or supersedes such section.

(c) The term “Committee” shall mean the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors of
the Company, or its designee.

(d) The term “Company” shall mean Nordson Corporation, an Ohio corporation, its corporate
successors, the surviving corporation resulting from any merger of the Company with any other
corporation or corporations and any successor to all or substantially all of the Company’s assets
or business.

(e) The term “Employee” shall mean any person employed by an Employer on a salaried basis who
is designated by the Committee to participate in the Plan.

(f) The term “Employer(s)” shall mean the Company and any of its subsidiaries (now in
existence of hereafter formed or acquired) that have been selected by the Committee to participate
in the Plan and have adopted the Plan as a sponsor.

(g) The term “Plan” shall mean the excess defined benefit pension plan as set forth herein,
together with all amendments hereto, which Plan shall be called the “Nordson Corporation 2005
Defined Benefit Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan.”

(h) The term “Separation from Service” shall have the meaning set forth in Section 1.409A-1(h)
of the Treasury Regulations, provided that in applying Section 1.409A-1(h)(1)(ii) of the Treasury
Regulations, a Separation from Service shall be deemed to occur if the Employee’s Employer and the
Employee reasonably anticipate that the level of bona fide services the Employee will perform for
the Employers (whether as an Employee or as an independent contractor) will permanently decrease to
less than 50% of the average level of bona fide services performed by the Employee for the
Employers (whether as an Employee or an independent contractor) over the immediately preceding 36
month period (or the full period of services performed for the Employer if the Employee has been
providing services for the Employers for less than 36 months). In the event of a disposition of
assets by the Company to an unrelated person, the Company reserves the discretion to specify (in
accordance with Section 1.409A-1(h)(4) of the Treasury Regulations) whether an Employee who would
otherwise experience a Separation from Service with the Company and the Employers as part of the
disposition of assets will be considered to experience a Separation from Service for purposes of
Section 1.409A-1(h) of the Treasury Regulations.

(i) The term “Salaried Pension Plan” shall mean the Nordson Corporation Salaried Employees
Pension Plan in effect on the date of an employee’s retirement, death, or Separation from Service.

1.2 Additional Definitions. All other words and phrases used herein shall have the meanings
given them in the Salaried Pension Plan, unless a different meaning is clearly required by the
context.

ARTICLE II

EXCESS PENSION BENEFIT

2.1 Eligibility. An Employee shall become eligible for an excess pension benefit under the
Plan on the date the Employee’s benefit under the Salaried Pension Plan is first limited by Section
415 or Section 401(a)(17) of the Code.

2.2 Amount. Subject to the provisions of Article III and completion of the vesting
requirement specified in Section 2.3, if applicable, the monthly excess pension benefit payable to
an Employee or Beneficiary shall be such an amount which, when added to the sum of the monthly
pension payable (before any reduction applicable to an optional method of payment) under the
Salaried Pension Plan to such person plus the monthly benefit payable under the 1985 Plan to such
person, equals the monthly pension benefit that would have been payable (before any reduction
applicable to an optional method of payment) under the Salaried Pension Plan to such person if the
limitations of Section 415 and Section 401(a)(17) of the Code were not in effect and taking into
consideration such other terms as agreed to between the Company and the Employee solely for
purposes of determining the amount of the excess pension benefit such as, but not limited to,
additional years of service, additional final average pay, early eligibility for unreduced excess
pension benefits and offset for frozen accrued benefits from prior employers.

2.3 Vesting Requirement. Each Employee who first becomes entitled to an excess pension
benefit hereunder prior to January 1, 2009 shall at all times be 100% vested in such excess pension
benefit. Each Employee who first becomes entitled to an excess pension benefit on or after January
1, 2009 shall become 100% vested in such excess pension benefit upon the earliest of (a) the date
that is 13 months after the date the Employee’s benefit under the Salaried Pension Plan is first
limited by Section 415 or Section 401(a)(17) of the Code or (b) the date of the Employee’s Death.

2.4 Form of Payment. To the extent permitted by Section 409A of the Code and Section
1.409A-2(a)(5) of the Treasury Regulations, within 30 days following the date an Employee’s benefit
under the Salaried Pension Plan is first limited by Section 415 or Section 401(a)(17) of the Code,
the Employee may elect for excess pension benefits under this Plan to be paid in the form of (a) a
single lump sum or (b) a single life annuity. In the event that the vesting requirement of Section
2.3 is accelerated for an Employee on account of death, any election made by such Employee under
this Section 2.4 shall be disregarded. Further, for purposes of any Employee who elects for excess
pension benefits under the Plan to be paid in the form of a single life annuity, prior to
Separation from Service, such Employee may elect to convert his excess pension benefit to any of
the actuarially equivalent forms of annuity offered under the Salaried Pension Plan. If an
Employee fails to make an election as to the form of payment or if an Employee’s election as to the
form of payment is invalid for any reason, the Employee shall be deemed to have elected to receive
his or her excess pension benefit in the form of a single lump sum payment.

2.5 Change in Form of Payment. In addition to the initial payment election specified in
Section 2.4 or any transition election specified in Section 6.12, to the extent permitted by
Section 409A of the Code, an Employee may make changes to the form of payment at any time up to 12
months before the date of the first scheduled payment; provided, however, that (a) any such
election shall not be effective for at least 12 months following the date made; and (b) to the
extent required by Section 409A of the Code, as a result of any such change, payment or
commencement of payment shall be delayed for 5 years from the date the first payment was scheduled
to have been paid (taking into account any delay in payment or commencement of payment under
Section 2.6 on account of an Employee’s status as a Specified Employee and any other delay in
payment or commencement of payment on account of an Employee’s previous payment election change
made on or after January 1, 2009).

2.6 Payments. All payments under the Plan to an Employee or Beneficiary shall be made by the
Company from its general assets. Payment shall be made or shall commence on the first day of the
month following the month in which the Employee’s Separation from Service occurs; provided, however
that the excess pension benefit of a Specified Employee of the Company shall not be paid or
commence to be paid until the date that is six months following the date of such Specified
Employee’s Separation from Service. On the date the payment is actually made or payments actually
commence, the Specified Employee will receive payment of all amounts that would have otherwise been
paid during the six month delay but for the application of this Section 2.6 increased by interest
at the 10 year Treasury rate in effect on the date of the Specified Employee’s Separation from
Service. For purposes of this Section 2.6, Specified Employees shall be determined in accordance
with the Nordson Corporation Policy for Determining Specified Employees.

ARTICLE III

OPTIONAL METHODS OF PAYMENT

3.1 Payment of the excess pension benefit to an Employee or Beneficiary shall be made in
accordance with the Employee’s election under Section 2.4 and if applicable Section 2.5. The
amount of the excess pension benefit payable to an Employee or Beneficiary shall be reduced to
reflect reduction for early commencement or for selection of an optional form of payment in
accordance with the applicable terms of the Salaried Pension Plan. In making the determination and
reductions provided for in this Article III, the Company may rely upon calculations made by the
independent actuaries for the Salaried Pension Plan, who shall apply the assumptions then in use in
connection with the Salaried Pension Plan. For purposes of calculating any Lump Sum payment under
this Plan, the following actuarial assumptions shall be used: The mortality assumption shall be
the Internal Revenue Service Single Life Table under Section 1.401(a)(9)-9 of the Treasury
Regulations and the interest rate assumption shall be the average 30 Year Treasury Security Rate
published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin for the month prior to the month in which the
Participant’s Separation from Service occurs.

3.2 Small Benefit Cash-Out. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3.1, with respect to
any Employee’s excess pension benefit under the Plan that would otherwise be paid as an annuity
under Section 3.1, if the aggregate actuarial value of all remaining excess pension benefits
payable to an Employee under the Plan and any other nonqualified deferred compensation arrangement
that is aggregated with the Plan under Section 1.409A-1(c) of the Treasury Regulations as of the
date payment is scheduled to commence is not greater than the applicable dollar amount in effect on
such date under Section 402(g)(1)(B) of the Code, the Company shall pay the excess retirement
benefit under the Plan in a single lump sum; provided, however, that payment of an excess pension
benefit to any Specified Employee as defined in Section 2.6 will be made in accordance with the
portions of Section 2.6 applicable to Specified Employees.

ARTICLE III-A

SURVIVOR BENEFITS

3A.1 Death before Separation From Service. (a) If an Employee dies before a Separation from
Service and a benefit is payable to the Employee’s surviving spouse under the Salaried Pension
Plan, the Employee’s surviving spouse shall be eligible for an excess pension benefit under this
Section 3A.1. The survivor benefit payable to an Employee’s surviving spouse under this Section
3A.1 shall equal the amount which, when added to the sum of the monthly pension payable (before any
reduction applicable to an optional method of payment) under the Salaried Pension Plan to the
surviving spouse plus the monthly benefit payable under the 1985 Plan to the surviving spouse,
equals the monthly pension benefit that would have been payable (before any reduction applicable to
an optional method of payment) under the Salaried Pension Plan to the surviving spouse if the
limitations of Section 415 and Section 401(a)(17) of the Code were not in effect and taking into
consideration such other terms as agreed to between the Company and the Employee solely for
purposes of determining the amount of the excess pension benefit such as, but not limited to,
additional years of service, additional final average pay, early eligibility for unreduced excess
pension benefits and offset for frozen accrued benefits from prior employers.

(b) The survivor benefit payable under this Section 3A.1 shall be paid to the Employee’s
surviving spouse in the form of a joint and fifty percent survivor annuity commencing on the first
day of the month following the date of the Employee’s death, or if later, on the first day of the
month following the month in which the Employee would have attained age 55 (calculated as if the
Employee had a Separation from Service on the day before the date of his death and (i) if the
Employee has already attained age 55 as of the date of his death, commenced payment on the date of
his death and died immediately after his receipt of such first payment or (ii) if the Employee has
not already attained age 55 as of the date of his death, commenced payment on the date of his 55th
birthday and died immediately after his receipt of such firm payment); provided, however, that if
the aggregate value of all remaining surviving spouse benefits payable to the Employee’s surviving
spouse under the Plan and any other nonqualified deferred compensation arrangement that is
aggregated with the Plan under Section 1.409A-1(c) of the Treasury Regulations as of the date
payment is scheduled to commence is not greater than the applicable dollar amount in effect on such
date under Section 402(g)(1)(B) of the Code, the Company shall pay the excess retirement benefit
under the Plan in a single lump sum.

3A.2 Death After Separation from Service. If an Employee dies after Separation from Service a
benefit will only be payable to the Employee’s surviving spouse or Beneficiary if the form of
payment elected by the Employee requires benefits to continue to the Employee’s surviving spouse or
Beneficiary following the death of the Employee.

ARTICLE IV

ADMINISTRATION

4.1 Committee Duties. This Plan will be administered by the Committee. The Committee will,
subject to the terms of this Plan, have the authority to: (i) approve for participation employees
who are recommended for participation by the president and Chief Executive Officer of the Company,
(ii) adopt, alter, and repeal administrative rules and practices governing this Plan, (iii)
interpret the terms and provisions of this Plan, and (iv) otherwise supervise the administration of
this Plan. All decisions by the Committee will be made with the approval of not less than a
majority of its members. The Committee may delegate any of its authority to any other person or
persons that it deems appropriate, provided the delegation does not cause this Plan or any awards
granted under this Plan to fail to qualify for the exemption provided by Rule 16b-3, or, if
applicable, to meet the requirements of the regulations under Section 162(m) of the Code.

4.2 Administration Upon Change In Control. For purposes of this Plan, the Company shall be
the “Administrator” at all times prior to the occurrence of a Change in Control (as such term is
defined in the Nordson Corporation 2005 Deferred Compensation Plan Effective January 1, 2005 (As
Amended and Restated Effective January 1, 2009)). Upon and after the occurrence of a Change in
Control, the “Administrator” shall be an independent third party selected by the individual who,
immediately prior to such event, was the Company’s Chief Executive Officer or, if not so
identified, the Company’s then highest ranking officer (the “Ex-Chief Executive Officer”). The
Administrator shall have the discretionary power to determine all questions arising in connection
with the administration of the Plan and the interpretation of the Plan including, but not limited
to benefit entitlement determinations. Upon and after the occurrence of a Change in Control, the
Company must: (1) pay all reasonable administrative expenses and fees of the Administrator; (2)
indemnify the Administrator against any costs, expenses and liabilities including, without
limitation, attorney’s fees and expenses arising in connection with the performance of the
Administrator hereunder, except with respect to matters resulting from the gross negligence or
willful misconduct of the Administrator or its employees or agents; and (3) supply full and timely
information to the Administrator on all matters relating to the Plan, the Participants and their
Beneficiaries, the excess pension benefits of the Participants, the date of circumstances of the
retirement, disability, death or Separation from Service of the Participants, and such other
pertinent information as the Administrator may reasonably require. Upon and after a Change in
Control, the Administrator may be terminated (and a replacement appointed) by the Ex-Chief
Executive Officer. Upon and after a Change in Control, the Administrator may not be terminated by
the Company.

4.3 Agents. In the administration of this Plan, the Committee may, from time to time, employ
agents and delegate to them such administrative duties as it sees fit (including acting through a
duly appointed representative) and may from time to time consult with counsel who may be counsel to
any Employer.

4.4 Binding Effect of Decisions. All decisions by the Committee, and by any other person or
persons to whom the Committee has delegated authority, shall be final and conclusive and binding
upon all persons having any interest in the Plan.

4.5 Indemnity of Committee. The Company shall indemnify and hold harmless the members of the
Committee, and any Employee to whom the duties of the Committee may be delegated, and the
Administrator against any and all claims, losses, damages, expenses or liabilities arising from any
action or failure to act with respect to this Plan, except in the case of willful misconduct by the
Committee, any of its members, any such Employee or the Administrator.

4.6 Employer Information. To enable the Committee and/or Administrator to perform its
functions, the Company and each Employer shall supply full and timely information to the Committee
and/or Administrator, as the case may be, on all matters relating to the compensation of its
Participants, the date and circumstances of the retirement, disability, death or Separation from
Service of its Participants, and such other pertinent information as the Committee or Administrator
may reasonably require.

ARTICLE V

AMENDMENT AND TERMINATION

The Company reserves the right to amend or terminate the Plan at any time by action of its
Board of Directors. Any such termination of the Plan shall be in accordance with Section
1.409A-3(j)(4)(ix) of the Treasury Regulations or as otherwise may be permitted by future
Regulations or other guidance under Section 409A of the Code. No such action shall adversely
affect any Employee or Beneficiary who is receiving excess pension benefits under the Plan, unless
an equivalent benefit is provided under the Salaried Pension Plan or another plan sponsored by the
Company and such equivalent benefit is payable at the same time and in the same form as the excess
pension benefit otherwise payable from this Plan. The Company specifically reserves the right to
amend the Plan to conform the provisions of the Plan to the guidance issued by the Secretary of the
Treasury with respect to Section 409A of the Code, in accordance with such guidance.

ARTICLE VI

MISCELLANEOUS

6.1 Non-Alienation of Retirement Rights or Benefits. Except in the case of a domestic
relations order within the meaning of Section 414(p)(1)(B) of the Code, Employees or Beneficiaries
are not permitted to assign, transfer, alienate or otherwise encumber the right to receive payments
under the Plan. Except in the case of a domestic relations order within the meaning of Section
414(p)(1)(B) of the Code, any attempt to do so or to permit the payments to be subject to
garnishment, attachment or levy of any kind will permit the Company to make payments directly to
and for the benefit of the Employee, Beneficiary or any other person. Each such payment may be
made without the intervention of a guardian. The receipt of the payee shall constitute a complete
acquittance to the Company with respect to any payments, and the Company shall have no
responsibility for the proper application of any payment.

6.2 Incapacity. The Company shall be permitted to make payments in the same manner as
provided for in Section 6.1 if in the judgment of the Company, an Employee or Beneficiary is
incapable of attending to his financial affairs.

6.3 Plan Non-Contractual. This Plan shall not be construed as a commitment or agreement on
the part of any person employed by the Company to continue his employment with the Company, nor
shall it be construed as a commitment on the part of the Company to continue the employment or the
annual rate of compensation of any such person for any period. All Employees shall remain subject
to discharge to the same extent as if the Plan had never been established.

6.4 Interest of Employee. The obligation of the Company under the Plan to provide an Employee
or Beneficiary with an excess pension benefit merely constitutes the unsecured promise of the
Company to make payments as provided herein, and no person shall have any interest in, or a lien or
prior claim upon, any property of the Company.

6.5 Controlling Status. No Employee or Beneficiary shall be eligible for a benefit under the
Plan unless such Employee is an Employee on the date of his retirement, death, or Separation from
Service.

6.6 Claims of Other Persons. The provisions of the Plan shall in no event be construed as
giving any person, firm or corporation any legal or equitable right as against the Company, its
officers, employees, or directors, except any such rights as are specifically provided for in the
Plan or are hereafter created in accordance with the terms and provisions of the Plan.

6.7 No Competition. The right of any Employee or Beneficiary to an excess pension benefit
will be terminated, or, if payment thereof has begun, all further payments will be discontinued and
forfeited in the event the Employee or Beneficiary at any time subsequent to the effective date
hereof:

(i) wrongfully discloses any secret process or trade secret of the Company or any of
its subsidiaries, or

(ii) becomes involved directly or indirectly as an officer, trustee, employee,
consultant, partner, or substantial shareholder, on his own account or in any other
capacity, in a business venture that within the two-year period following his
Separation from Service, the Company’s Board of Directors determines to be
competitive with the Company.

6.8 Severability. The invalidity or unenforceability of any particular provision of the Plan
shall not effect any other provision hereof, and the Plan shall be construed in all respects as if
such invalid or unenforceable provision were omitted therefrom.

6.9 Governing Law. The provisions of the Plan shall be governed and construed in accordance
with the laws of the State of Ohio to the extent not preempted by ERISA.

6.10 Permissible Accelerations. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan to the
contrary, in accordance with Section 1.409A-3(j)(4) of the Treasury Regulations, the Company may,
in its sole discretion, cause payments to or on behalf of an Employee to be accelerated (i) to the
extent necessary to fulfill a domestic relations order (as defined in Section 414(p)(1)(B) of the
Code, (ii) to the extent necessary for any Federal officer or employee in the executive branch to
comply with an ethics agreement with the Federal government, (iii) to the extent reasonably
necessary to avoid the violation of an applicable Federal, state, local, or foreign ethics law or
conflicts of interest law (including where such payment is reasonably necessary to permit the
Employee or Beneficiary to participate in activities in the normal course of his or her position in
which an Employee or Beneficiary would otherwise not be able to participate under an applicable
rule); (iv) to pay FICA taxes on any amounts deferred under the Plan and any state, local or
foreign income tax withholding related to such FICA tax, (v) at any time the Plan fails to meet the
requirements of Section 409A of the Code and the Treasury Regulations thereunder; provided however
that the amount of the accelerated payment may not exceed the amount required to be included as a
result of the failure to comply with Section 409A of the Code and the Treasury Regulations
thereunder; (vi) where the acceleration of the payment is made pursuant to a termination and
liquidation of the Plan in accordance with Section 1.409A-3(j)(4)(ix) of the Treasury Regulations;
(vii) to reflect payment of state, local or foreign tax obligations arising from participation in
the Plan that apply to the amount deferred under the Plan before the amount is paid or made
available to the Employee or Beneficiary; provided such payment may not exceed the amount of such
taxes due as a result of participation in the Plan; (viii) as satisfaction of a debt of the
Employee to the Company in accordance with Section 1.409A-3(j)(4)(xiii) of the Treasury Regulations
and (ix) where such payment occurs as a part of a settlement between the Employee or Beneficiary
and the Company of an arm’s length, bona fide dispute as to the Employee’s or Beneficiaries right
to the deferred amount.

6.11 Compliance with Section 409A of the Code. The Plan is intended to provide for the
deferral of compensation in accordance with the provisions of Section 409A of the Code, for
compensation earned, vested, or deferred after December 31, 2004. Notwithstanding any provisions
of the Plan to the contrary, no benefit shall be paid under the Plan in a manner that would result
in the taxation of any amount under Section 409A of the Code.

6.12 Transition Elections. Notwithstanding any other elections made hereunder and only to the
extent permitted by the Company and transition rules issued under Section 409A of the Code, through
such dates as specified by the Company pursuant to transitional guidance issued under Section 409A
of the Code, Employees have been permitted to make one or more elections as to the time and form
of payment of their excess pension benefit under the Plan, provided that (a) any such elections
made during 2005 were only available for amounts that were payable after the 2005 calendar year and
could not accelerate any payments into the 2005 calendar year, (b) any such elections made during
2006 were only available for amounts that were payable after the 2006 calendar year and could not
accelerate any payments into the 2006 calendar year, (c) any such elections made during 2007 were
only available for amounts that were payable after the 2007 calendar year and could not accelerate
any payments into the 2007 calendar year, and (d) any such elections made during 2008 were only
available for amounts that were payable after the 2008 calendar year and could not accelerate any
payments into the 2008 calendar year.

ARTICLE VII

BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION

7.1 Beneficiary. Each Employee shall have the right, at any time, to designate his or her
Beneficiary(ies) (both primary as well as contingent) to receive any benefits payable under the
Plan to a Beneficiary upon the death of an Employee. The Beneficiary designated under this Plan
may be the same as or different from the Beneficiary designation under any other plan of an
Employer in which the Employee participates.

7.2 Beneficiary Designation; Change; Spousal Consent. An Employee shall designate his or her
Beneficiary by completing and signing a beneficiary designation form, and returning it to the
Committee or its designated agent. An Employee shall have the right to change a Beneficiary by
completing, signing and otherwise complying with the terms of the beneficiary designation form and
the Committee’s rules and procedures, as in effect from time to time. If an Employee names someone
other than his or her spouse as a Beneficiary, a spousal consent, in the form designated by the
Committee, must be signed by that Employee’s spouse and returned to the Committee. Upon the
acceptance by the Committee of a new beneficiary designation form, all Beneficiary designations
previously filed shall be canceled. The Committee shall be entitled to rely on the last
beneficiary designation form filed by the Employee and accepted by the Committee prior to his or
her death.

7.3 Acknowledgement. No designation or change in designation of a Beneficiary shall be
effective until received and acknowledged in writing by the Committee or its designated agent.

7.4 No Beneficiary Designation. If an Employee fails to designate a Beneficiary as provided
in Sections 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 above or, if all designated Beneficiaries predecease the Employee or
die prior to complete distribution of the Employee’s benefits, then the Employee’s designated
Beneficiary shall be deemed to be his or her surviving spouse. In the event of the death of the
Employee and all of the Employee’s Beneficiaries prior to payment in full of the Employee’s excess
pension benefit, any remaining excess pension benefit shall be paid to the estate of the last to
die of the Employee and the Employee’s Beneficiaries.

7.5 Doubt as to Beneficiary. If the Committee has any doubt as to the proper Beneficiary to
receive payments pursuant to this Plan, the Committee shall have the right, exercisable in its
discretion, to cause the Employee’s Employer to withhold such payments until this matter is
resolved to the Committee’s satisfaction.

7.6 Discharge of Obligations. The payment of benefits under the Plan to a Beneficiary shall
fully and completely discharge all Employers and the Committee from all further obligations under
this Plan with respect to the Employee.

ARTICLE VIII

CLAIMS PROCEDURES

8.1 Presentation of Claim. Any Employee or Beneficiary of a deceased Employee (such Employee
or Beneficiary being referred to below as a “Claimant”) may deliver to the Committee a written
claim for a determination with respect to the amounts distributable to such Claimant from the Plan.
If such a claim relates to the contents of a notice received by the Claimant, the claim must be
made within 60 days after such notice was received by the Claimant. All other claims must be made
within 180 days of the date on which the event that caused the claim to arise occurred. The claim
must state with particularity the determination desired by the Claimant.

8.2 Notification of Decision. The Committee shall consider a Claimant’s claim within a
reasonable time, and shall notify the Claimant in writing:

(a) that the Claimant’s requested determination has been made, and that the claim has been
allowed in full; or

(b) that the Committee has reached a conclusion contrary, in whole or in part, to the
Claimant’s requested determination, and such notice must set forth in a manner calculated to be
understood by the Claimant:

(i) the specific reason(s) for the denial of the claim, or any part of it;

	 	(ii)	 	specific reference(s) to pertinent provisions
of the Plan upon which such denial was based;

	 	(iii)	 	a description of any additional material or
information necessary for the Claimant to perfect the claim, and an
explanation of why such material or information is necessary; and

	 	(iv)	 	an explanation of the claim review procedure
set forth in Section 8.3 below.

8.3 Review of a Denied Claim. Within 60 days after receiving a notice from the Committee that
a claim has been denied, in whole or in part, a Claimant (or the Claimant’s duly authorized
representative) may file with the Committee a written request for a review of the denial of the
claim. Thereafter, but not later than 30 days after the review procedure began, the Claimant (or
the Claimant’s duly authorized representative):

(a) may review pertinent documents; and/or

(b) may submit written comments or other documents.

8.4 Decision on Review. The Committee shall render its decision on review promptly, and not
later than 60 days after the filing of a written request for review of the denial, unless special
circumstances require additional time, in which case the Committee’s decision must be rendered
within 120 days after such date. Such decision must be written in a manner calculated to be
understood by the Claimant, and it must contain:

(a) specific reasons for the decision;

(b) specific reference(s) to the pertinent Plan provisions upon which the decision was based;
and

(c) such other matters as the Committee deems relevant.

8.5 Legal Action. A Claimant’s compliance with the foregoing provisions of this Article VIII
is a mandatory prerequisite to a Claimant’s right to commence any legal action with respect to any
claim for benefits under this Plan.

EXECUTED this      day of      , 2008.

	 
	NORDSON CORPORATION

	By:

	Title:

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