Universal Forest Products Named One of Nation's 'Best Companies'
by Forbes Magazine
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Dec. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Universal Forest
Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI) today announced that it has been named to Forbes
magazine's prestigious Platinum 400, an annual listing of "America's best big
companies," for the sixth time in seven years.
The list appears in the January 10, 2005 issue of Forbes, which currently is on
newsstands.
According to Forbes, companies are selected for the list by ranking highly in
measurements of corporate practices as well as long- and short-term sales and
earnings growth and stock performance. Universal was one of 14 corporations
included in the materials industry and it ranked second among them in terms of
five-year annualized total returns, with a return of 25.8%. Other companies in
the category include Alcoa, Sonoco Products, Ball, and Worthington Industries.
"We're honored that our performance and strategies continue to get noticed by
respected publications such as Forbes," said Universal CEO and Vice Chairman
William G. Currie. "We're pleased that the people of Universal, who deliver
success year after year, get the recognition we believe they deserve. Our
achievements are the results of their hard work." Celebrating its 50th year in 2005, Universal Forest Products markets,
manufactures, and engineers wood and wood-alternative products for D-I-Y retail
home centers, structural lumber products for the manufactured housing industry,
engineered wood components for the site-built construction market and specialty
wood packaging for various industries. The Company also provides framing and
installation services in some markets.
Headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Universal has 9,000 employees and 96
facilities in 84 locations in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. The
Company posted $1.92 billion in net sales through the third quarter of 2004. For information about Universal Forest Products, please visit the Company's web
site at http://www.ufpi.com/ , or call 888-Buy-UFPI. DATASOURCE: Universal Forest Products, Inc.
CONTACT: Lynn Afendoulis, Director, Public Affairs of Universal Forest Products, Inc., +1-616-364-6161 Web site: http://www.ufpi.com/ Company News On-Call: http://www.prnewswire.com/comp/916064.html
|