FOAMEX NAMES ANDREW THOMPSON
EXECUTIVE VICE
PRESIDENT OF TECHNICAL PRODUCTS GROUP
_________________________________________________
LINWOOD, PA, January 28, 2003 –
Foamex International
Inc. (NASDAQ:FMXI), the leading manufacturer of flexible polyurethane and
advanced polymer foam products in North America, announced today that Andrew
Thompson, Senior Vice President, Research & Development, has been promoted
to the Executive Vice President of Foamex's Technical Products Group,
effective immediately. He will continue to oversee the Company's R&D
efforts. Mr. Thompson will report to Thomas Chorman, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Foamex.
Thomas Chorman, President and Chief
Executive Officer of Foamex said: “We are very pleased Andy has agreed to
take on these additional responsibilities for Foamex. An industry veteran
and innovative product developer, Andy’s expertise in the polyurethane arena
has been and will continue to be of great value to Foamex as we look to
improve and increase the scope of products that we currently offer our
customers.”
Mr. Thompson, 38, has been with Foamex
since January of 2000 and was most recently Senior Vice President, Research
& Development of Symphonex. Mr. Thompson is responsible for managing
Foamex’s research and development organization, intellectual property
strategy and maintenance, technical resource and customer interface, and
product stewardship. His areas of expertise include polyurethane foam
applications, polyurethane raw materials and processing and molded foam
compositions, processing and uses.
Prior to joining Foamex, Mr. Thompson
spent 10 years at Lyondell/ARCO Chemical where he held various positions in
polyurethane-related areas. In addition to technical responsibilities, Mr.
Thompson directed research and development activities in the area of
automotive seating applications and microcelluar elastromer for footwear
applications, including commercialization activities in China. Mr. Thompson
holds 12 U.S. patents in polyurethane technologies.
As previously announced, the proposed
public offering of Symphonex, which included Foamex's Technical Products
Group and Foamex Asia, has been deferred indefinitely and the Company has
restructured this organization back into its original businesses. Virginia
Kamsky, former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Symphonex, has
resigned as an employee of the Company in order to devote full time to her
company, Kamsky Associates (KAI), the oldest advisory and direct investment
firm in Beijing with extensive ties to the People’s Republic of China,
Korea, Japan and the rest of Asia. KAI has been responsible for assisting
in concluding approximately $7 billion in transactions. Ms. Kamsky will
remain on the Foamex Board of Directors.
Stephen P.
Scibelli formerly President and Chief Operating Officer of Symphonex will
remain President of Foamex Asia and will continue to reside in Bangkok,
Thailand. Mr. Scibelli will be responsible for the continued successful
growth of Foamex's overseas operation.
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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