Universal Forest Products Makes New Appointments to its Board of Directors
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Universal Forest Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: UFPI) today announced that it has appointed former Governor John Engler of Michigan and Mr. Dan Dutton, chairman of Stimson Lumber Company, to its Board of Directors.
"We are pleased and excited to have Governor Engler and Mr. Dutton as members of our Board. They each bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to us," said Peter F. Secchia, UFPI's chairman of the board. "Bringing members of the public sector and industry together on our Board of Directors will give us the perspective we need to continually enhance our Company and to ensure our success."
Engler served as Governor for the State of Michigan from 1990 to 2002, during which time he spearheaded a number of initiatives to streamline state government. In addition, Governor Engler worked closely with the corporate sector designing economic policies that helped to create more than 800,000 jobs in the state. He is expected to serve on the Company's Personnel & Compensation and Nominating & Corporate Governance Committees.
Mr. Dutton has served as Chairman and CEO of Stimson Lumber Company since 1991. Prior to that he served as the company's president. He has over 25 years of experience in the building products industry and is expected to Chair Universal's Audit Committee.
"We are grateful that these highly respected and knowledgeable professionals have agreed to join our Board of Directors," said Secchia. "They are a great addition to an already strong Board.
"Universal continues to believe that a small Board can be more effective and respond quicker to the changing marketplace," continued Secchia. "We also recognize the need to have strong independent thinkers who can serve on the various Board Committees so we will continue to strive to attract high quality individuals, such as Governor Engler and Mr. Dutton, to help guide our experienced management team.
"I also want to extend our deep gratitude to John Canepa, who retired from our Board on December 31, 2002. Mr. Canepa has agreed to consult with our Audit Committee to ensure a smooth transition for our new Directors," concluded Secchia.
Universal Forest Products markets, manufactures, and engineers products for D-I-Y retail home centers, structural lumber products for the manufactured housing industry, engineered wood components for the site-built construction market and specialty wood packaging for various industries. For information about Universal Forest Products on the Internet, please contact the Company's web site at www.ufpi.com , or call 888-Buy-UFPI. SOURCE Universal Forest Products, Inc.
CONTACT: Michael R. Cole, Chief Financial Officer of Universal Forest Products, Inc., +1-616-364-6161