Heil Environmental Industries Merges North American Operations to Alabama

Chattanooga, TN— Heil Environmental Industries, Ltd., announced the integration of all of its North American refuse collection vehicle manufacturing operations into its Fort Payne, Alabama, facility, effective May 20, 2003. As a result of this decision, Heil's Phoenix manufacturing facility will close in August.

"Integrating the Phoenix operations with those in Fort Payne is part of our aggressive pursuit of greater operational efficiency and manufacturing improvement," says Michael Jobe, president of Heil Environmental Industries. "The move also provides for future growth with ample room for expansion in a more modern facility that will enable us to better serve our customers."

Heil will not be leaving Phoenix. Heil Arizona, a company-owned distributorship offering new and used Heil refuse collection vehicles, Heil Certified OEM Parts, competitive Parts Inc. aftermarket parts, and maintenance service will continue to serve customers from its Phoenix location. In fact, Heil Arizona will provide customers with a "one-stop-shop" for their entire refuse collection vehicle, parts, and service needs.

After integrating the Phoenix production volume, the Fort Payne facility will still have adequate capacity to manage growth well into the future, even without additional physical plant expansion. All of the engineering, prototyping and tooling have been completed for a seamless transition and no products will be discontinued as a result of the integration.

In addition to manufacturing, resources in the areas of engineering and product development will also be integrated into the Fort Payne operation. The Fort Payne facility is already home to the company's extensive research and development laboratories, customer and partner training facilities, customer/technical support center, manufacturing engineering and Heil's OEM Parts Central headquarters. Sales and marketing, finance, IT, legal, and administrative functions are located in Heil's Chattanooga, Tennessee, world headquarters.