Universal Forest Products Named One of the Country's Top 50
Manufacturers by Industry Week Magazine
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., July 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Universal Forest
Products, Inc. (NASDAQ:UFPI) today announced that it was again included on the
list of the "Top 50 U.S. Manufacturers" compiled by Industry Week magazine.
The article states, "The top U.S. manufacturers have overcome terrorism, war
and recession to deliver superior performance." It's the second year in a row Universal has been included on the list, which is
being reported in the magazine's August 2004 issue. To come up with the list,
Industry Week considered the members of its "U.S. 500," a list of the largest
publicly traded manufacturing companies in the United States (Universal is #302
on that list). It then rated the companies' financial performance during the
past three years (2000 to 2003) in six areas: revenue growth, return on equity,
profit margin, asset turnover, inventory turnover, and return on assets.
Universal is joined on the list by such prestigious firms as Harley- Davidson
Inc., Reynolds & Reynolds Co., Hormel Foods corp., Colgate Palmolive Co., and
Stryker Corp.
"We're honored to be included on the list and to be in such strong company,"
said Universal's CEO William G. Currie. "This is another recognition of the
strength of our business model and our people. We're proud to deliver strong
performance year after year for our shareholders, and happy when others
recognize us for our capabilities and success." Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Universal has 96 facilities and 9,000
employees throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico and had sales of $1.9
billion in 2003. The Company 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. Among Universal's newest and fastest-growing ventures are framing
and installation services for the site-built and retail sectors. In
conjunction with its customers, Universal uses its engineering and
manufacturing expertise, coupled with highly skilled employees, to design and
construct buildings and decks. For information about Universal Forest Products
on the Internet, 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
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