BIETIGHEIM, Germany, Feb. 20 /PRNewswire/ — Armstrong DLW AG, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Armstrong
Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: ACK) said today thatit had entered into talks with CVC Capital Partners on
the possible sale ofthe European components of its Textiles and Sports Flooring division, which
operates under the brand name Desso. The talks are expected to last several months. Desso, with
approximately 1,300 employees, manufactures commercial carpet and artificial sports flooring in The
Netherlands, Germany and Belgium. Basedin Oss, The Netherlands, the division had annual sales of
approximately$313 million in 1999. “An acquisition by CVC would enable Desso to receive the
investment it needs to grow and better serve its customers and employees,” said ArmstrongDLW AG
President and CEO Gerard Glenn. “Armstrong’s European flooring business is focused on resilient
products, and indeed we would use theproceeds from a sale to grow this core business for us in
Europe.” Although the Company is currently assessing the accounting for the potential transaction,
it is expected that there could be a net loss on disposal of approximately $30-35 million before
any tax benefit. CVC Capital Partners, based in London, is a leading European private equity firm
that has interests in more than 200 companies throughout Europe with a total value of $30 billion.
Additionally, Armstrong Holdings, whose operating unit, Armstrong World Industries, Inc., filed for
Chapter 11 protection in December to resolve its asbestos liability, reported that it would
disclose its financial results for2000 in its 10-K report to the SEC in late March. Although the
financial reports are not yet available, Chairman and CEO Michael D. Lockhart said that fourth
quarter 2000 performance was negatively impacted by a decline in sales and profits as a result of
the continued slowdown in the economy, and higher raw material and energy costs. For 2001, Lockhart
said he expected economic conditions not to improve and that Armstrong plans on revenues relatively
flat versus 2000 and operating income, excluding the effects of asbestos and reorganization
charges, to decline from 2000 levels. These materials contain forward-looking statements within the
meaning ofthe Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements provide the
company’s expectations or forecasts of future events. Actual results could differ materially as a
result of known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors, including: the outcome of
Armstrong World Industries Inc.’s (“AWI”) Chapter 11 case; the company’s ability to maintain
financial liquidity; AWI’s asbestos-related and any other litigation;variations in raw material and
energy costs and the company’s success inachieving manufacturing efficiencies and price increases;
the company’s success in introducing new products; product and price competition caused by factors
such as worldwide excess industry capacity; interest, foreign exchange and effective tax rates;
success in achieving integration of and synergies from the company’s acquisitions; greater than
expected working capital requirements; business combinations among competitors and suppliers; the
strength of domestic and foreign end-use markets and improved efficiencies inthe European flooring
market; effects on international operations from changes in intellectual property protection and
trade regulations; and other risks,uncertainties and factors disclosed in the company’s and AWI’s
most recent reports on Forms10-K, 10-Q and 8-K filed with the SEC. The company undertakes no
obligationto update any forward-looking statement. Armstrong Holdings, Inc. is a global leader in
the design, innovation and manufacture of floors and ceilings. Based in Lancaster, PA, Armstrong
has approximately 15,000 employees worldwide. In 1999, Armstrong’s net sale stotaled more than $3.4
billion. SOURCE Armstrong Holdings, Inc.Web Site: http://www.armstrong.com Copyright 2001 PR
Newswire

The Radici Group weaving machine manufacturing companies of Vamatex of America and Somet of America
have announced their operational merger in the North American Market. These two companies with U.S.
weaving machines installed surpassing over 3500 is also being merged with American Savio Corp. who
is also located in Spartanburg, S.C. These three market leaders now operating as one company will
further insure future financial stability.Mr. Nikolaos Perackis has already been named one of the
two commercial directors over the newly formed company. Promatech is responsible for both Vamatex
S.p.A. and Somet Weave Tech in the Americas. Mr. Perackis resides in Italy. Further details of the
merger will follow soon.Vamatex and their employees have physically relocated to the offices of
Somet of America and American Savio located at 100 Martin Road, Spartanburg, S.C.

ATI Special Report Tradition And Technology
Frotanna-Textil revitalizes terry production with Sulzer installation. The
Oberlausitz region in the German state of Saxony has a long history of textile production. The
first terry loom in Germany was put into operation there in 1856, in the small town of Grochonau.
Around 1900, there were some 2,250 looms in Grochonau, including 700 terry looms, producing a wide
range of fabrics. Today, the towns Damask and Terry Museum bears witness to the skills and quality
standards that evolved over the course of time.Frottana-Textil GmbHandCo. KG, founded in Grochonau
in 1856, grew with that tradition. Today, the 180-strong workforce produces terry products marketed
under the brand names Frottana and Move. The Move brand is noted for top-quality terry goods in
exquisite designs. Frottana-Textil supplies its products terry fabrics, finished terry towels in a
wide range of sizes and bathrobes mainly to European clients, including all leading vendors of this
type of textile, and the products are becoming ever more popular among end-users. In the past few
years, turnover has increased by over 10 percent per year. 

To keep pace with increasing demand, production facilities have been modernized to reflect
the state of the art. The weaving room has been completely renewed in order to create a highly
flexible weaving facility for high-end quality and exclusive patterning. The main effort in the
modernization was focused on the replacement of older looms with modern Sulzer Textil G6200 F-model
rapier weaving machines, whose short set-up times allow cost-effective production, even of small
orders. All of these machines are equipped with electronically controlled jacquard heads
manufactured by Stli.With the assistance of specialists from Switzerland-based Sulzer Textil,
commissioning of the new weaving facility at the end of May 2000 went off without a hitch. The
anticipated plant efficiency level was achieved within just a few weeks. Ludwig Marschner,
Frottanas weaving manager, said: We have achieved the flexibility we wanted. Setting up the
machines is easy and 100-percent reproducible. The error rate is minimal, thanks to the machines
far-reaching self-checking capability (by microprocessors). The G6200s dynamic pile control allows
special patterning effects to be produced. Changing from three-pick to seven-pick terry is possible
at any time. Each pick can be programmed on the microprocessor and beaten up separately. No special
tools are needed. With these machines, we can surpass present standards regarding patterning
options and quality.Managing Director Matthias Kretzschmer added: Apart from substantial cost
savings, our company will be able to fulfill customers wishes in the future with even higher levels
of flexibility and quality. This is especially true when you consider that the use of modern
weaving technology, backed up by a universal CAD-CAM system, opens up new and fascinating
perspectives in patterning for future collections. Loop Formation TechnologyTerry fabrics are
produced by simultaneous processing of two warps: the ground warp, with tautly tensioned ends; and
the pile warp, with lightly tensioned ends. A special weaving method enables loops to be formed
with the lightly tensioned warp ends on the fabric surface. With the basic method, known as
three-pick terry, three picks form a pick group. Using a special device on the weaving machine, two
picks are inserted at a variable distance the loose-pick distance from the cloth fell, according to
the desired loop height. When the third pick is beaten up, the reed pushes the pick group on the
tautly tensioned ground warps towards the fell, and the loose-pile warp ends woven into the pick
group are uprighted to form loops. Depending on the weave, loops are created on one or both sides
of the fabric.For complex patterns, the G6200 series is equipped with a jacquard machine. For less
demanding patterns, a dobby is sufficient, and simple, non-patterned fabrics can be woven using a
tappet motion. Terry fabrics are often very complex, combining differently colored warp ends with
loop patterns.Terry fabrics are subject to changing fashions and demands for new qualities and
designs. Completely new patterns can be designed, thanks to the rapid development of electronics,
with microprocessor controls and highly dynamic stepping motors combined with modern mechanisms.
One such mechanism is the special terry sley gear with dynamic pile control, as used by Sulzer in
the G6200 F. Via a servo motor, the beat-up position for each pick, and thus the type of terry and
pile height, can be freely programmed for each pick group. In this way, 200 different loose-pick
distances, and hence the same number of pile heights, can be programmed in any order desired. Thus,
the fabric designer has a broad range of patterning options, and the weaving engineer a technology
for improving the fabric structure, because the transition from one pattern element to the next can
be woven with greater precision. Sculptured TerryWith these elements, Sulzer specialists have
developed a new patterning method referred to as sculptured terry. At each full beat-up, two pile
loops of different heights are formed in weft direction. The secret of this method lies in the fact
that two loose-pick groups formed at distances corresponding to the pile heights are beaten up to
the cloth fell together.For two short loops, the pile threads are woven into both loose-pick
groups, and for one large loop, into the second loose-pick group only. It was difficult to develop
a basic weave that results in neat loops without excessive friction between warp and weft at full
beat-up. The solution was found in a special seven-pick weave combined with full beat-up at the
sixth and seventh pick. In this way, a second pile height is also formed in weft direction, making
sculptured patterning possible by the difference in pile height in warp and weft direction.For this
kind of pattern formation, freely programmable sley travel, as is found on the G6200 series, is
necessary. Microprocessor control allows the loose-pick distance to be programmed easily and
individually for each pick. The G6200 F can be equipped with a control system for a maximum of
eight different weft colors or yarns, and a jacquard machine, thus giving fabric designers
practically unlimited scope for the design of terry fabrics. 
For additional information on Sulzer weaving technology, contact Verner Huber or Rudolf Vogel,
Sulzer Textil, at +41 (0)52-262 65 54 or
www.sulzer.com/str_home.html.
This story was published with permission of Sulzer Textil.

February 2001

HOUSTON, Jan. 30 /PRNewswire/ — An industry publication recently ran a story saying that Shell
Chemical Company* was not proceeding with a polytrimethylene terephthalate (PTT) project planned
for Altamira, Mexico.This is not accurate. The company is currently looking at various sites,
including Altamira tobuild a plant that would demonstrate Shell and Zimmer AG’s all-melt,continuous
PTT process. Shell’s PTT business development and investment in anew PTT plant remain an integral
part of our strategy to grow the1,3-Propanediol (PDO) business. “We are excited about the long-term
prospects for the PTT business and ourPTT proprietary continuous process technology. We see
positive signs in the industry that PTT is on its way to becoming a viable product in the
marketplace as new textile and carpet products, made from our CORTERRA**Polymers, continue to be
launched,” said Stan Park, Vice President-PDO/CORTERRA Polymers. Shell is actively discussing
various project options with others interested in PTT. * The expression ‘Shell Chemicals’ refers to
the companies of the RoyalDutch/Shell Group which are engaged in the chemical businesses. Each of
the companies which make up the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of companies is an independent entity and
has its own separate identity. ** CORTERRA is a trademark of the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of
companies.The trade designation for CORTERRA is not registered for fibers per se, but is registered
for the polymer used to make the fibers.SOURCE Shell Chemical Company Copyright 2001 PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Jan. 31 /PRNewswire/ — Higgins Industries Inc., announces the development of an UV Sun
Protective clothing process called “BFX.” Certified and tested by International UV Testing
Laboratories at Auburn University, this BFX process has received a50+UPF rating, the highest
International rating level available. A spokesperson for Higgins Industries has said that “before
there was fashion, clothing had a utilitarian purpose. In this new millennium the protective
quality of our clothing has become increasingly more important,particularly with the dramatic
increase of skin cancer.” It is estimated this year that in the United States, Melanoma cases will
reach 47,700 with deaths of 7,700. It is the fastest growing of all cancers,and among all
accidental deaths it has experienced the largest percentage of increase from 1986 – 1996, 22%.
Textiles treated with the BFX protection block 98%-99% of the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays. Tom
Higgins, of Higgins Industries, has expressed his concern about the depletion of the ozone layer
and has said, “it is a small price to pay for such an important protection. If you consider that
80% of the harmful exposure occurs during our childhood, it is really important we get an
educational message out to our youth of the importance of protecting themselves with sunscreens and
the correct clothing.”SOURCE Higgins Industries, Inc.Web Site: http://www.bfxtextiles.comCopyright
2001 PR Newswire

THOMASTON, Ga., Feb. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Thomaston Mills, Inc.(OTC Bulletin Board: TMSTA TMSTB)
announced today that the Company’s board of directors, at a meeting earlier today, accepted the
resignations of Neil H.Hightower, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, George
H.Hightower, Jr., Executive Vice President and President of the Apparel Fabrics Division, and H.
Stewart Davis, Executive Vice President and President of theConsumer Products Division. The board
also elected A. William Ott as the acting President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and
charged the Company’s Audit Committee with the search for a turnaround management firm to address
the Company’s turnaround efforts and liquidity needs. Mr. Hightower,Mr. Hightower, Jr. and Mr.
Davis continue to serve as directors of the Company. Commenting on the management changes, Neil
Hightower said, “My family isproud to have been involved with Thomaston Mills for over 100 years,
and we have seen the company succeed through good times and bad. The difficult circumstances facing
the company now are reflected in the textile industry generally, and we have every hope and
expectation that under new management the company will find new ways to compete in the future. For
Stewart, George and myself, we will continue to support the company in every way possible.” A.
William Ott, acting President, said, “Thomaston Mills is a company witha great tradition of
excellence and management integrity. I am thankful to Neil, George and Stewart for their
longstanding loyalty and contributions tothe company and look forward to their continued
involvement as directors.”Mr. Ott continued, “In an environment of new challenges for domestic
textile manufacturers, it is time for us to turn our attention to building our core competency as a
low cost provider of consumer products and apparel fabrics and expanding our customer base. We are
energetically pursuing strategic initiatives designed to strengthen our sales and further lower our
cost structure.” Thomaston Mills operates four textile plants in the Thomaston, Georgia,area with
over 1500 employees. The Company produces sheets, pillowcases andcomforters for retail customers,
and also produces textiles for the homefurnishings and piece dyed markets. FORWARD-LOOKING
STATEMENTS: Certain of the above statements contained herein constitute forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the PrivateSecurities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which maycause the
actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any
future results, performance or achievement express or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Such factors include,among other things, business conditions, volatility of commodities
markets,ability to control operating costs, developing successful new products and maintaining
effective pricing and promotion of its products.SOURCE Thomaston Mills, Inc.Web Site:
http://www.thomastonmills.com Copyright 2001 PR Newswire

For a hundred years, the name Indanthren® has been synonymous with high-quality, heavy-duty
cotton fabrics with good colorfastness. The tradename Indanthren was coined for the first synthetic
vat dyes, which were discovered by Germany-based BASF in 1901. Today, it stands for a full range of
dyes with maximum fastness to light, washing and chlorine. Indanthren dyes are still the dyes of
choice for the production of modern workwear and other special articles with high
fastness. HistoryThe first official mention of Indanthren is a reference made on Jan. 17,
1901, to a new blue dye discovered by Renohn, a chemist working for BASF. The company submitted a
patent application for this product on Feb. 6, 1901. Manufacture of this dye opened up completely
new dimensions for the dyeing and printing of cellulosics. 

In 1901, BASF chemist, Renohn discovered a new blue vat dye the first to be listed as an
Indanthren. Thanks to their outstanding properties, vat dyes rapidly became established on the
market and Indanthren gained an almost unique reputation even with consumers. In the 1920s, people
looking for quality and value for money were well aware of the advantages of clothing, curtains and
towels that did not fade after repeated washing or exposure to sunlight. For decades, the
Indanthren trademark was a sign of quality. Making ProgressThe triumphal progress of vat dyes
was checked by two new trends: the rise of synthetic fibers and the development of reactive dyes
for cotton. Even so, vat dyes have remained the products of choice for particularly high-quality
dyed and printed cotton fabrics. In the wake of keen price competition in the textile sector, many
textile finishers have been given the opportunity to ward off cheaper competition by concentrating
on high-quality specialities for which consumers are prepared to pay more. Vat dyes now have a
stable market share of about 15 percent of the total market for textile dyes. Incorporating
DyStarBASF has recently transferred its textile dyes operations to Germany-based DyStar. The
integration of BASFs textile dyes operations has made DyStar the market leader in vat dyes with a
technological edge over its competitors. DyStars Ludwigshafen site is still the worlds largest
integrated production facility for this class of dyes. The current Indanthren range comprises over
40 products for textile dyeing and an equally extensive assortment for textile printing. The modern
dyes are simpler to apply than the early Indanthren products, processing costs are lower and they
have a better environmental profile. All Indanthren vat dyes are metal-free. As pigment-type
compounds they have virtually no bioavailability and thus very little impact on production
effluent. Future Prospects

These days, DyStars development work with vat dyes focuses primarily on eliminating the need
for reducing agents. A new electrochemical application process in which chemical reducing agents
are replaced by electrons in an electric current opens up promising new prospects for the future.
Following a year of laboratory tests, the first trials in customers facilities are scheduled to
take place in Indanthrens centenary year. Project Manager Dr. Wolfgang Schrott expects this
particularly environment-friendly dyeing process to give Indanthren new impetus and lead to a
revival of interest in these dyes for sportswear and fashion garments. For additional
information on DyStars development work with vat dyes, contact Karl-Heinz Michel, DyStar Corporate
Communications, at ++49 (0)69-2109-2734 or via e-mail at Michel.KarlHeinz@www.DyStar.com.

February 2001