December 2003

Marietta Corporation to Make Major Expansion

The Marietta Corporation announced today that it will be expanding its high speed bulk manufacturing line, investing more than $6 million and creating 100 jobs over the next two years. The project is being supported by a $400,000 HUD economic development grant, announced by Congressman Sherwood Boehlert.

"Marietta continues to see opportunity for growth here in Cortland," according to David Hempson, senior vice president of the Marietta Corporation. "Support from our federal, state and local officials help to make the economics for future expansion attractive. We are grateful to Congressman Boehlert for the confidence placed in Marietta and we will continue to work to compete successfully in the global market."

The expansion will occur in the 450,000 sq. ft. former Rubbermaid facility in the heart of downtown Cortland, which Marietta purchased in 2001. The company has already invested more than $14 million in renovations and specialized processing equipment in that facility, with the first new bulk manufacturing line going into production in late 2002. In its first six months of operation, the new bulk manufacturing produced and filled over five million kilograms of liquid personal care products.

The company will now be installing a high speed bottling to run 16 oz. retail containers of personal care products to serve such worldwide customers as Procter & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson and L'Oreal. The new production line will be capable of filling 180 bottles per minute and 180,000 bottles per day, with a total capacity of 40 million units per year. The company also expects to make capital expenditures to support line integration, testing, shipping and training for the new equipment. Marietta employs 450 people at its Cortland, NY facility

"Expansion of manufacturing sector jobs in Central New York is critical to the economic health of our region," according to Paul Slowey, Chairman of the Cortland County IDA. "The IDA is enthusiastic about working with Congressman Boehlert to see this project to fruition."

Marietta is the leading personal care amenity supplier in the world, and created the liquid amenities business in the United States. The company was founded 26 years ago in Upstate New York and its corporate headquarters remain in Cortland, NY. The company serves 23 of the top 25 hotel chains around the world in 88 countries and carries more corporately endorsed hotel programs than any other supplier in the industry. If you took the number of soap bars Marietta manufactures and laid them end-to-end, they would reach around the world at the equator.

The company has continued to grow in Upstate New York. From a modest beginning, total corporate annual sales are now $140 million, with an annual payroll of $22 million. This impressive record of growth now positions the company head to head with major amenities manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Dial, Unilever and Colgate Palmolive. The company has domestic production facilities in Cortland, NY, Olive Branch, Mississippi and Mississauga, Ontario as well as overseas sales and operations facilities in Singapore, Sydney and London.

Manufacturing capabilities include liquids, creams, lotions, gels, bar soaps as well as OTC and household products. Packaging capabilities include bottles, jars, tubes, packettes, thermoforms, over-wrapping and affixing. Marietta is also the world's leading manufacturer of unit-of-use samples in the personal care industry. The company's strength in the customization of multiple packaging formats provides clients with the tools to effectively market and promote their private label brands through a variety of personal care products.