FOAMEX ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT CHANGES
CEO Thomas E. Chorman Assumes Additional
Responsibilities as President;
Restructures and Streamlines Management Team
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LINWOOD, PA, October 31, 2002 -- Foamex International Inc. (NASDAQ: FMXI),
the world’s leading manufacturer of flexible polyurethane and advanced
polymer foam products, today announced that Thomas E. Chorman, Chief
Executive Officer, will assume additional responsibilities as President of
Foamex, effective immediately. In addition, the Company announced that it
has implemented a new and streamlined senior management team and that George
Karpinski, Senior Vice President and Treasurer, has been named Interim Chief
Financial Officer.
As part of
the new management structure, the following additional changes have been
made to Foamex’s executive management team, effective immediately:
- Paul Haslanger, formerly Senior Vice President of
Automotive Manufacturing, has been named Executive Vice President of
Manufacturing, replacing Pete Wallace, who has left the Company;
- Steven Drap, formerly Executive Vice President of
Strategic Planning and Development, has been named Executive Vice
President of Carpet Cushion, replacing Terry Kall, who has announced his
retirement effective November 8, 2002;
- Gregory Christian, formerly Vice President and Deputy
General Counsel, has been named Executive Vice President and General
Counsel and will be responsible for both the Legal Department and Human
Resources. James Van Horn, formerly Executive Vice President, Human
Resources, has left the Company;
- Michael Carlini, formerly Senior Vice President and
Chief Purchasing & Logistics Officer, has been named Chief Administrative
Officer in charge of Purchasing, Logistics and Information Technology; and
- Andrew Thompson, formerly Vice President, Research &
Development has been promoted to Senior Vice President, Research &
Development.
Additionally, the following members of the senior
management team will retain their current responsibilities:
- Donald Crawford, Executive Vice President, Foam
Products - East;
- Darrell Nance, Executive Vice President, Foam Products
- West;
- Arthur Vartanian, Executive Vice President, Automotive
Products;
- Virginia Kamsky, Chairman & CEO of Symphonex; and
- Steve Scibelli, President of Symphonex.
Commenting on the new executive management team,
Mr. Chorman said: “I’m very proud of the strong new executive team we’ve
put in place. We are unified in our focus and will work together to
creatively drive productivity and efficiency in all our businesses. I have
great confidence in the new management team’s ability to work closely with
one another to energize Foamex, deliver fully on the promise of this Company
and create greater value for our shareholders.”
Mr. Chorman continued: “I would like to thank Pete, Terry
and Jim for their contributions to Foamex over the years and I wish them the
best of luck in their next endeavors.”
Commenting on the appointment of George Karpinski as
Interim CFO, Mr. Chorman said: “We are pleased to have George in this
critical position while Foamex continues its search for a permanent CFO.
Already a valuable member of Foamex’s senior management team, George has an
impressive financial background and he will be a great asset in this role as
we take steps to increase efficiency and create greater value for
shareholders.”
Biographies of Executive Management Team:
Gregory J. Christian – Executive Vice President & General
Counsel
Gregory J. Christian was most recently Vice President and
Deputy General Counsel of Foamex since February 2002 and was Director of
Labor Relations and Corporate Counsel from October 1996 to February 2002.
Prior to joining Foamex, Mr. Christian held various management positions of
increasing responsibility with Trans Freight Systems, Inc. most recently as
Vice President and Corporate Counsel. Mr. Christian received a B.S. in
Management from Fairfield University, a Masters in Business Administration
from Widener University and a Juris Doctorate from Widener University.
Michael Carlini – Chief Administrative Officer
Michael Carlini has been with
Foamex since June 2001, and was most recently as Senior Vice President and
Chief Purchasing & Logistics Officer. Prior to that, Mr. Carlini served as
Senior Vice President of Finance & Chief Accounting Officer. Before joining
Foamex he spent eight years with Berg Electronics, holding various positions
such as VP of North American Operations, Global Vice President & Controller,
and Vice President of Finance. Mr. Carlini also worked for General Defense
Corporation as Vice President & General Manager, and spent four years with
Price Waterhouse & Company in New York and Philadelphia. Mr. Carlini holds
a B.S. in Business Administration from Susquehanna University and an MBA
with a concentration in Finance from Drexel University; he is also a CPA.
Steven Drap – Executive Vice President, Carpet Cushion
Steven Drap was most recently
Executive Vice President, Strategic Planning and Development of Foamex since
August 2002 and was the Company’s Executive Vice President, Technical
Products from March 1998 until August 2002. Mr. Drap served as Vice
President, Manufacturing and Customer Service, Technical Products of Foamex
from July 1997 until March 1998. Prior to that, Mr. Drap held various
management positions since joining Foamex in 1980. He received a B.S. in
Chemistry from Lehman College.
Paul Haslanger – Executive Vice President, Manufacturing
Paul Haslanger was most recently Senior Vice
President of Automotive Manufacturing and has held various manufacturing
positions throughout all business units of Foamex. In 1993 he was promoted
to Senior Vice President of Manufacturing for Foamex. In 1984 he was Vice
President of Manufacturing with a predecessor company to Foamex and prior to
that he held various plant level jobs including Technical Manager for the
Eddystone plant. Mr. Haslanger began his career in 1969 as a process
engineer at the Eddystone Plant. He received a B.S. in Mechanical
Engineering from Cornell University.
George Karpinski – Interim Chief Financial Officer
George Karpinski was most
recently Senior Vice President and Treasurer of Foamex and has held various
positions throughout Foamex. Prior to this position, Mr. Karpinski was Vice
President and Treasurer of Foamex from May 1993 until August 1997, Treasurer
of Foamex from March 1989 until May 1993 and Assistant Treasurer of Foamex
from November 1985 until March 1989. Mr. Karpinski began his career with a
predecessor to Foamex in 1969. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State
University with a B.S. in Business Administration.
Andrew Thompson – Senior Vice President, Research &
Development
Andrew Thompson has been with the Foamex since
January of 2000 and was most recently Vice President, Research & Development
in charge of managing the R&D organization, intellectual property strategy,
and product stewardship. Prior to joining Foamex, Mr. Thompson spent 10
years at Lyondell/ARCO Chemical where he held various positions in
polyurethane-related areas. Mr. Thompson holds 12 U.S. patents in
polyurethane technologies. He holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University
of Delaware and a Ph.D. in Polymer Chemistry from the University of
Massachusetts.
About Foamex
International Inc.
Foamex, headquartered in Linwood, PA, is the world's
leading producer of comfort cushioning for bedding, furniture, carpet
cushion and automotive markets. The Company also manufactures
high-performance polymers for diverse applications in the industrial,
aerospace, defense, electronics and computer industries as well as
filtration and acoustical applications for the home. For more information
visit the Foamex web site at
http://www.foamex.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press
release contains, and oral statements made from time to time by
representatives of the Company may contain, forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended,
and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such
forward-looking statements include, without limitation, those relating to
completion of the operational restructuring as currently contemplated and
the currently anticipated benefits of the restructuring, including those
relating to the work force reductions, cost savings and restructuring
charges from Project Transformation, the expected benefits of expanding the
use of VPF technology, the Company's ability to introduce new products,
enhance sales growth and margins and the outlook for the Company's financial
performance. These forward-looking statements are affected by risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that the Company makes about, among other
things, its ability to implement customer selling price increases in
response to higher raw material costs, raw material price increases, general
economic conditions, conditions in the capital markets, the interest rate
environment, the level of automotive production, carpet production,
furniture and bedding production and housing starts, the completion of
various restructuring/consolidation plans, the achievement of management’s
business plans, its capital and debt structure (including various financial
covenants), litigation and changes in environmental legislation and
environmental conditions and other factors mentioned in the documents filed
by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While the
Company believes that its assumptions regarding the foregoing matters are
reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore there
can be no assurance that the Company's forward-looking statements will prove
to be accurate. Additional information that could cause actual results to
vary materially from the results anticipated may be found in the Company's
most recent Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Readers should be aware that any forward-looking
statement made in this press release or elsewhere by the Company speaks only
as of the date on which it is made, and the Company disclaims any obligation
or intent to update any of the factors listed above or forward-looking
statements.
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