FOAMEX INTERNATIONAL NAMES THOMAS E. CHORMAN
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
__________________________________________________________
LINWOOD, PA, October 18, 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 has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive
Officer, effective immediately. Foamex also announced that Peter W.
Johnson, former President and Chief Operating Officer, has chosen to resign
from the Company. Mr. Chorman will have responsibility for all line and
staff functions.
“I am extremely pleased to have Tom as
our new CEO,” said Marshall Cogan, Chairman and Founder of Foamex. “This is
a crucial time for Foamex, as the Company looks to improve profitability,
carry out Project Transformation to contain costs and implement price
increases. As an accomplished, multifaceted executive with over 20 years of
experience, Tom has proven to be an invaluable member of the management
team. On behalf of the Board, I welcome Tom to his new role, and we look
forward to his continued contributions to the Company.”
Mr. Chorman commented: “I am committed
to very quickly improving our productivity and profitability, focusing our
business operations, and building on our customer and employee
relationships. Foamex has a great deal of untapped potential, and I believe
that we have the people and the skills to deliver much better results.”
Mr. Cogan added: “We thank Pete Johnson
for his many contributions to Foamex over the past year. Pete conducted
himself in a remarkably admirable way while focusing on improving the
Company’s operations. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I wish
him well in his future endeavors.”
Mr. Chorman, 48, joined Foamex in
September of 2001 as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and
later assumed additional responsibilities as Chief Administrative Officer of
Foamex. Among his other responsibilities, Mr. Chorman played an active role
in building relationships with Foamex’s customers and vendors.
Prior to joining Foamex, Mr. Chorman was
Chief Financial Officer of Ansell Healthcare, Inc, a global manufacturer of
medical and industrial products, where he spearheaded significant
profitability-improvement and cash-generation projects. From 1997 to 2000,
Mr. Chorman was Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of
Armstrong’s Worldwide Floor Product Operations, where he initiated and
directed two major acquisitions. Earlier in his career, Mr. Chorman spent
13 years with Procter & Gamble, in positions with increasing
responsibility. While at Procter & Gamble, Mr. Chorman was responsible for
the company’s manufacturing reorganization of its North American supply
chain. In addition, as Global Finance Manager and CFO for Corporate New
Ventures, he developed and managed Procter & Gamble’s strategic new product
development process.
In connection with his work at Procter &
Gamble, Mr. Chorman was awarded the International Franz Edelman Award for
his work in operations research management science, and his work in new
product portfolio and supply chain management are now part of the curriculum
at top graduate schools.
Mr. Chorman holds an MBA from Rutgers
Graduate School of Management and an undergraduate degree in economics from
City University of New York.
The Company also announced that it would
initiate a search for a new CFO.
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.
#
# #
