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NEWS
RELEASE
FOR
IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
January 28,
2003
COMPANY CONTACT:
Mark Geiger
Acuity
Specialty Products Group,
Inc.
404.603.7979
ZEP®
announces janitorial supplies contract with U.S.
Communities
Atlanta, GA - (January 28,
2003) Zep Manufacturing, an
Acuity Brands Company, (NYSE: AYI) and U.S.
Communities, a national Cooperative Purchasing
Alliance, have announced an agreement in which Zep
will act as the primary provider of janitorial
supplies for state and local public agencies
across the United States.
Under the terms
of the agreement, more than 6,000 public agencies
participating in U.S. Communities’ program now
have the ability to procure any of Zep’s 3,500
premium products. Additionally,
participating agencies gain the valuable
solution-providing services of Zep’s highly
trained 1,200-strong U.S. direct sales force. Teams from
both organizations have been formed to manage the
new partnership.
“We’re
excited about our partnership with U.S.
Communities and believe that both public agencies
and Zep will benefit from this agreement,” said
Jim Heagle, Acuity Specialty Products Group’s
president and CEO. “U.S.
Communities will provide us with valuable
information on members who need our abilities to
solve their cleaning problems. We in turn
will provide the technical, customer service and
product capabilities to offer the lowest total
cost solution to U.S. Communities’ members. We look
forward to assisting each public agency with our
unique cleaning solution
capabilities.”
U.S. Communities is a
non-profit instrumentality of government and is
sponsored by the Association of School Business
Officials International, National Association of
Counties, National League of Cities, National
Institute for Governmental Purchasing, and the
United States Conference of Mayors. U.S.
Communities’ mission is “Government Purchasers
Saving You Money”, and it offers public agencies
access to quality products at the lowest
total-cost solution. Its
contracts offer public agencies such benefits as:
competitively solicited contracts by a lead
government agency; no membership costs or fees to
use the contracts; and non-exclusive
agreements.
U.S.
Communities combines potential purchasing power of
up to 87,000 local agencies in all 50 states.
According to Rob Braulik, U.S. Communities
Marketing Director, “Through U.S. Communities,
counties, cities, school districts, special
districts, colleges, universities, states and
non-profit agencies can utilize the public agency
competitively solicited contracts, take advantage
of the enormous collective purchasing power of
public agencies nationwide and leverage these
savings to their own advantage.”
Zep Manufacturing, an
ISO 9001 and 14001 certified company, is a leader
in institutional and industrial maintenance and
sanitation products. For more
than 66 years, Zep has differentiated itself from
competitors by offering a diverse, high quality
product line supported by one of the largest
trained direct sales force in the
industry.
Zep
products include hand cleaners, degreasers,
sanitizers, deodorizers, polishes, floor finishes,
and lubricants. Market segments include the
automotive and janitorial industries, car washes,
food processing, aviation, government, and
manufacturing plants. Global licensing and
distribution agreements put Zep products in nearly
every corner of the
world.
Acuity Brands, Inc.,
with fiscal year 2002 sales of approximately $2.0
billion, is comprised of Acuity Lighting Group and
Acuity Specialty Products Group. Acuity Lighting
Group is the world's leading lighting fixture
manufacturer and includes brands such as Lithonia
Lighting(R), Holophane(R), Peerless(R), Hydrel(R),
and American Electric Lighting(R). Acuity
Specialty Products Group is a leading provider of
specialty chemicals and includes brands such as
Zep(R), Enforcer(R), and Selig Industries(TM).
Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Acuity Brands
employs 11,800 people and has operations
throughout North America and in
Europe.
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