Press Release

Southco

Release date: July 15, 2008

Southco Invests In New Manufacturing Operation At Concordville, Pennsylvania Campus

Concordville, PA, July 8, 2008-Southco, a global leader in engineered access solutions with its global headquarters in Concordville, PA, today opened a state-of-the-art Injection Molding and Rapid Prototyping Center of Excellence. The new facility-part of the 135,000 square feet of manufacturing operations housed at the Concordville Campus-is the result of several million dollars of investment to keep technology development and highly skilled manufacturing jobs in the greater Philadelphia/Southeastern Pennsylvania region in order to better serve the company's North America customer base.

According to Brian McNeill, president and CEO of Southco, the investment in the new manufacturing complex in Concordville represents the company's commitment to further develop the company's adaptive, talented workforce while maintaining Southco's domestic manufacturing capabilities.
"Southco has survived and thrived for over 100 years because of our ability to recognize, adapt and invest around the significant changes we have seen in our products, markets and customers," said McNeill. "In an era of declining manufacturing in the U.S. and here in the Philadelphia region, the creation of this mission-critical, Injection Molding and Rapid Prototyping Center of Excellence will enable Southco to continue to develop and manufacture innovative products and provide superior service to our customers. The opening of this facility is part of the company's proactive restructuring plan to rebalance our operations around the globe, while maintaining our roots in Pennsylvania."

McNeill added that since 90 percent of the products manufactured at the Concordville Injection Molding Center of Excellence will be consumed in North America, having domestic engineering and manufacturing capabilities that can quickly and efficiently respond to the needs of customers was part of the company's passion for strong customer connectivity and operational excellence.

McNeill noted that Southco serves over 70,000 customers in 70 countries with 3,000 employees worldwide. Southco's engineered access solutions include key "touch points" such as locks, latches, captive fasteners, positioning hinges, handles and other innovative products. The application universe for Southco products is immense and covers industries such as marine, automotive, off-highway/construction, RV/caravan, aerospace, railway, industrial machinery, enclosures, HVAC, medical equipment and network, telecommunications and computers.

Southco is strongly focused on customized engineering solutions and global support for its key customers. The company aspires to be a virtual engineering center for its customers' engineered-access solutions and is committed to providing outstanding quality and overall satisfaction. Southco's promise to its customers is to connect, create and innovate to provide the best solution for every access engineering problem.