Christine Foster
three PR
404.835.4524
cfoster@3atlanta.com
Katie O’Neill
three PR
404.835.4527
koneill@3atlanta.com
--Simmons acknowledged as a bedding industry safety and health management leader--
(ATLANTA – September 5, 2007) – Officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) invited executives from Atlanta-based Simmons Bedding Company to Washington, D.C., to recognize the company’s efforts in safety and health management.
Edwin G. Foulke, Jr., assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health and head of OSHA, met with Charlie Eitel, Simmons’ chairman and CEO, and Jonathan Dawe, Ph.D., Simmons’ director of safety, health, wellness and workers' compensation, at OSHA headquarters in Washington. At the February 12 meeting, OSHA officials singled out Simmons as a safety and health management leader in the bedding manufacturing industry.
During the meeting, the Simmons executives discussed the company’s approach to safety and health management with senior officials at OSHA. Eitel and Dawe also filmed a testimonial video that OSHA will use for national marketing of an advanced OSHA safety program, the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP). OSHA’s VPP film premiered on August 27 at the 2007 National Voluntary Protection Programs Participants’ Association Conference, where it was shown to approximately 2,800 attendees from the labor, management and government sectors.
“This occasion underscores Simmons’ commitment to expanding our involvement with OSHA’s cooperative programs like SHARP (Safety and Health Achievement Recognition Program) and VPP,” said Eitel. “That is a long-term priority for us, and we are honored to know that OSHA views Simmons as an exemplary provider of superior employee safety.”
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OSHA Recognizes Simmons/ page 2
WORKPLACE SAFETY MODELS
OSHA, which oversees workplace safety for the federal government, created VPP and SHARP to identify businesses that serve as models of workplace safety in their industries and local business communities. To qualify, companies must exhibit a management structure committed to ensuring employee safety and well-being. They also must meet a number of requirements to be recommended for certification, including:
SAFETY RESULTS
This past January, OSHA’s Boston regional office and the Massachusetts Division of Occupational Safety named Simmons’ Agawam, Mass., facility one of thirteen SHARP sites in the state of Massachusetts. Simmons’ Agawam plant posted an OSHA incident rate of 1.1 last year, compared to the furniture industry’s incident rate of 8.8 during that same time period.
The inclusion of the Agawam facility in SHARP is just the latest of several safety accolades garnered by Simmons manufacturing plants across the country:
Simmons’ Phoenix plant renewed its membership in SHARP and VPP Star. For more information, please visit www.simmons.com.
About Simmons Atlanta-based Simmons Company, through its indirect subsidiary Simmons Bedding Company, is one of the world's largest mattress manufacturers, manufacturing and marketing a broad range of products under brands including Beautyrest®, Beautyrest Black™, Natural Care™, ComforPedic by Simmons™, BackCare®, Beautyrest Beginnings™ and Deep Sleep®. Simmons Bedding Company operates 21 conventional bedding manufacturing facilities and two juvenile bedding manufacturing facilities across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. Simmons also serves as a key supplier of beds to many
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OSHA Recognizes Simmons/ page 3
of the world’s leading hotel groups, casinos and resort properties. Simmons is committed to
developing superior mattresses and promoting a higher quality sleep for consumers around the world.
For more information, visit the company's website at www.simmons.com.
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This press release includes forward-looking statements that reflect our current views about future events and financial performance. Words such as “estimates,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “projects,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “forecasts” and variations of such words or similar expressions that predict or indicate future events, results or trends, or that do not relate to historical matters, identify forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this call. These forward-looking statements are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them. However, there can be no assurance that the events, results or trends identified in these forward-looking statements will occur or be achieved. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations. These factors include, but are not limited to: (i) competitive pricing pressures in the bedding industry; (ii) legal and regulatory requirements; (iii) the success of our new products and the future costs to roll out such products; (iv) our relationships with and viability of our major suppliers; (v) fluctuations in our costs of raw materials; (vi) our relationship with significant customers and licensees; (vii) our ability to increase prices on our products and the effect of these price increases on our unit sales; (viii) an increase in our return rates and warranty claims; (ix) our labor relations; (x) departure of our key personnel; (xi) encroachments on our intellectual property; (xii) our product liability claims; (xiii) our level of indebtedness;
(xiv) interest rate risks; (xv) compliance with covenants in our debt agreements; (xvi) our future acquisitions; (xvii) our ability to successfully integrate Simmons Canada and ComforPedic into our operations; (xviii) our ability to achieve the expected benefits from any personnel realignments; and (xix) other risks and factors identified from time to time in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, either to reflect new developments or for any other reason.