BUSINESS/ORGANIZATIONAL BRIEFS

Genesis Equipment Names Regional Managers

Superior, WI— Genesis Equipment & Manufacturing, Inc. has appointed Ian Lewandowski and Dean Sprouse as regional managers for the company’s Midwest and South Central regions, respectively.

Lewandowski, a native of Duluth, Minnesota, will be taking Genesis’s message to customers in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Kansas and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan as well as the Canadian provinces of western Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Sprouse, a Houston resident, will call on customers and prospective Genesis users in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Colorado. He brings with him more than a decade of experience serving construction customers on both the sales and rental side.

Harris Promotes Ashley Walls to Management

Peachtree City, GA— Harris Waste Management Group, Inc. announced the promotion of Ashley Walls to Manager Parts Sales. Ashley will oversee the direction of Harris’ parts sales department in Cordele, Georgia, including pricing and policies along with the day-to-day operation. Ashley will report directly to Dwane Braziel, manager of parts and service.

Mr. Walls received his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and worked for the Lilliston Corporation as an industrial engineer before joining Harris in 1981. In Ashley’s 22 plus years with Harris, he has held various positions such as manufacturing engineer, welding superintendent, industrial engineer, parts sales estimator and service engineer.

Alcan Partakes in Joint Venture in China

Beijing, China and Montreal, Quebec— Alcan Inc. announced the signing of a definitive joint venture agreement with the Qingtonxia Aluminum Company (“QTX”) and the Ningxia Electric Power Development and Investment Co. Ltd. (“NEI”). Under the agreement, Alcan will invest up to U.S. $150 million, following necessary regulatory approvals for a 50 percent participation and secure power supply in an existing 150-kilotonne modern pre-bake smelter located in the Ningxia autonomous region, in the Peoples’ Republic of China.

The agreement provides for the joint venture to obtain long-term access to dedicated power on competitive terms sufficient to meet the energy requirements of the smelter. The agreement also gives Alcan a substantial operating role and the option to acquire, through additional investment, up to 80 per cent of a new 250-kilotonne potline, already under construction.

Alcan and QTX have been working together since June 2002 to develop this joint venture project. Alcan, in conjunction with QTX and the Ningxia government, recently submitted their agreed joint venture proposal to the Chinese government for approval. The investment is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2004 following customary approvals.

Royer Named Global CEO of Year by Pulp & Paper Week

San Francisco, CA— Paperloop, a worldwide provider of information for the paper, pulp, forest, converting and allied industries, announced that the company’s prestigious Global CEO of the Year award will this year go to Raymond Royer, president and CEO of Domtar, Inc. The award will be presented November 18th at Pulp & Paper Week’s 11th Paper/Forest Global Outlook Conference.

Environmental Elements Settles Patent Litigation; Receives New Contract

Baltimore, MD— Environmental Elements Corporation announced that it has received an order valued over $1,500,000 for the design and supply of a new modular fabric filter system. The air pollution control equipment will remove particulate emissions from a new circulating fluid bed boiler being installed at a municipal utility site located in the mid-west with delivery scheduled for the spring of 2004.

Environmental Elements Corporation also announced that it has entered into a confidential settlement agreement to dismiss the patent litigation with EC&C Technologies, Inc., Hamon Research Cottrell, Inc. and Wahlco, Inc. relating to its Ammonia-on-Demand (AOD(R)) technology for generating ammonia from urea. As part of the agreement, EEC will discontinue its AOD(R) business.

Hi-Rise Recycling CEO Recognized by Goodwill Industries

Wooster, OH— Dennis B. Donahue Sr., president and CEO of the Hi-Rise Recycling Companies and former CEO of Will-Burt, Inc., recently received the Goodwill Industries Lifetime Achievement Award for Wayne and Holmes counties, Ohio. Donahue’s nine years of service include: chair of development committee, chair of nominating committee, chair of the agency board, chair of finance committee, chair of operating committee and executive committee member.

Donahue began his service in 1993 under the leadership of then-local-president and CEO Bruce Phipps and participated as a trustee supporting Phipps in growing the organization from $2 million to $5 million, clients served by 300%, and achieving a net worth to support the agency for three months should an unanticipated emergency occur.

SWANA Names Garavaglia Public Relations Coordinator

Silver Spring, MD— SWANA’s executive director and CEO announced the appointment of Liz Garavaglia as SWANA’s marketing and public relations coordinator.

Liz will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the association’s public relations and media outreach program in addition to overseeing the marketing for several of SWANA’s products and managing the production of two regular newsletters.

NRC Updates Board

Washington, DC— Members of the National Recycling Coalition (NRC) have elected Christine McCoy, Rural Community Assistance Program, to the board of directors and re-elected Jim Bosch, formerly of Target Corporation, and Steve Ragiel of Recycle America Alliance.

Other directors on the 2003-2004 board are Cherae Bishop, Weyerhaeuser Company; Terry Gilman, Texas; Ron Kolbash, Ohio Department of Natural Resources; Meg Morris, Energy Answers Corporation; Cis Myers, Hey Cister! Consulting; and Michael Patton, Metropolitan Environmental Trust.

Sohi Appointed to RMA Board of Directors

Plymouth, MI— The Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA), the national trade association for the rubber products industry, has named Dr. Mohsen Sohi, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Freudenberg-NOK, to its board of directors.

"Dr. Sohi's years of experience in executive management ensure that he will be an important addition to the RMA board," said Donald B. Shea, president and CEO of RMA. "His position at Freudenberg-NOK is especially valuable to the RMA's general products group, which focuses on the business interests of non-tire product manufacturers."

Heil Appoints New Director of Product Management

Chattanooga, TN— Heil Environ-mental Industries, Ltd. has promoted Dan Rosen to lead the company's product management team. Rosen brings 17 years of experience in technical service, product management, export and national sales to his new role as director of product management.

Rosen joined Heil in 1986 as a technical service representative. He was promoted to general manager of Heil's parts group in 1989, then moved to product management in 1990, eventually assuming product management responsibility for all refuse collection vehicle products. In 1997, he was named general manager for the export group. In 2000, he became Heil's Allied Waste account director.

$13 Million Cleanup to be Handled by MHF Logistical Solutions

Pittsburgh, PA— MHF Logistical Solutions, Inc. (MHF-LS), transportation logistics and packaging specialists, said that it has begun work on a $13 million project to transport 314,000 tons of soil from a former Edison, New Jersey, chemical manufacturing facility to licensed disposal sites in Ohio and Michigan.

The project is part of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) Superfund clean-up program. EPA is using the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as its construction manager for this project which will run through the spring of 2005.

MHF-LS, which won its assignment through competitive bidding with other transportation, logistics and waste disposal companies, is acting as a subcontractor to Conti Environmental Inc., the project's general contractor for excavation, transportation and off-site disposal. MHF-LS is also providing services for two other companies which are handling treatment and disposal services for the hazardous waste portion of the project.

Insurance Auto Auctions Announces Third Quarter Financial Results

Schaumburg, IL— Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., a provider of automotive salvage and claims processing services in the United States, reported a net loss for the quarter ended September 28, 2003. The company recorded a net loss of $0.6 million, or a loss of $0.05 per diluted share, versus net earnings of $0.6 million, or $0.05 per diluted share, for the same quarter a year ago.

Revenues for the quarter were $49.1 million compared with $52.8 million in the third quarter of 2002. The decline in revenues was primarily due to the company's continued shift away from vehicles sold under the purchase agreement method and lower volumes on a same-store basis. The purchase agreement method accounted for 5 percent of the total vehicles sold this quarter versus 8 percent for the same quarter one year earlier. Under the purchase agreement method, the entire purchase price of the vehicle is recorded as revenue, compared to the lower-risk, consignment fee-based arrangements, where only the fees collected on the sale of the vehicle are recorded as revenue. Fee income in the third quarter increased to $40.3 million versus $39.3 million in the third quarter of last year.

Federal Signal Announces Third Quarter EPS of $.21 per Share

Oak Brook, IL— Federal Signal Corporation reported diluted earnings per share of $.21 for the third quarter of 2003 on sales of $288 million. These results compare to the $.28 per share earned on sales of $262 million in 2002's third quarter. Sales increased 10% as a result of refuse truck body acquisitions in late 2002 and also benefited from the currency translation benefit of stronger European and Canadian currencies. Operating margins were lower in all groups, reflecting a lower margin sales mix in several segments.