Release Details

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Jan. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Universal Forest Products® (Nasdaq: UFPI) the nation's leading supplier of engineered wood components to the site-built construction market, today announced it has signed a letter of intent to acquire 50 percent of the assets of D&R Framing Contractors of Englewood, Colorado. Universal, through a wholly owned subsidiary, will form a Limited Liability Company with Mr. David Baltz, D&R's current operations manager, to purchase 100 percent of the company's assets. The acquisition is scheduled to close following Universal's normal due diligence and Board approval.

"We will now be able to supply our Colorado customers engineered wood components, including roof trusses, floor trusses and wall panels, and also installation services to frame the structure," said William G. Currie, UFPI's chief executive officer. "Numerous conversations with our major customers lead us to believe that this combination of framing components and labor is the appropriate business model to drive efficiency for the builder, and a better quality product for the home buyer."

Universal Forest Products' chief operating officer, Michael B. Glenn, commented, "Our manufacturing facility in Lafayette, Colorado has had a long standing business relationship with D&R Framing Contractors. Universal will benefit immediately from D&R's additional sales revenue, which approached $44 million in 2000. More importantly, this partnership provides a platform for our continued growth in the very important Colorado market."

David Baltz, D&R's operations manager, commented, "We are very pleased to join Universal Forest Products and their dynamic growth strategy. Our 25 years of framing experience, combined with Universal's purchasing power and their ability to manufacture engineered wood components, will enable us to competitively provide a totally integrated framing package for our customers. We welcome this opportunity and the benefits it will provide our customers and employees."

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 investor relations web site at www.ufpi.com , or call 888-Buy-UFPI.

Included in this report are certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs of the Company's management as well as on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual results could differ materially from those included in such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are the following: Adverse lumber market trends, competitive activity, negative economic trends, government regulations, and weather. These risk factors and additional information are included in the company's reports on Form 10K and 10Q on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Universal Forest Products®, Inc.

CONTACT: Charles R. Felix, Sr. V.P. Development and Investor Relations, or Michael R. Cole, Chief Financial Officer, 616-364-6161, both of Universal Forest Products(R), Inc.; or Matthew Della Croce, Vice President, 212-453-2316, Pat McCoy, Managing Supervisor, 212-453-2272, both of Fleishman Hillard/