FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 4, 2006

Avery Graphics Comes to Aid of Sign Shops Devistated by Hurricanes

PAINESVILLE, Ohio ­ Sign shops in the path of Hurricane Katrina are finding there is more work available than ever, if they can just get their businesses up and running again. Avery Dennison Graphics Division has been instrumental in helping several shops recover and take advantage of the new opportunities.

Avery Graphics, in conjunction with the MidSouth Sign Association, identified shops that were struggling to reopen following the devastation and flooding from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The search was complicated by the lack of power lines, phone service and other basic communication infrastructures. The process led Avery Graphics to two shops in Louisiana and one in Mississippi who had their hands full getting their facilities and equipment operational. Avery Graphics took one burden off their plates by re-stocking inventory.

The shops each received a palette of Avery Graphics signage material that included of 31 rolls of assorted A-Series vinyl, two rolls of Digital Series vinyl, one roll of BannerLine material and application tools. The value of each palette was approximately $6400.

R.T. Thomas, owner of Air Design Sign and Airbrush Studio in Hattiesburg, MS, said the help could not have come at a better time. “I got a call from a truck driver asking if I was expecting a delivery. I didn't think I had anything that would be delivered by semi, but he finally convinced me that he had a delivery, for me, from Avery.” As the truck unloaded, Thomas was astounded. “This ‘gift’ is one of the best things to ever happen to me. It will get me back on the road to being able to make a living again. I can't tell you how grateful I am.”

“Our customers are our extended family,” says Dave Harris, Regional Sales Manager. “When we saw that there was something we could do that would make a difference not just for the sign shops but for their communities, facing a critical need to replace lost signage, we knew we had to step up in a big way.”

The two other sign shops that received palettes are Sign Worx of Metairie, LA, and American Signs, located in Harahan, LA.

Avery Graphics continues to work with members of the sign industry in the hurricane-damaged areas. In addition to a disaster relief donation to the MidSouth Sign Association, Avery Graphics is working to link distributors in other parts of the country with product to donate to distributors and shops in need within affected costal Louisiana and Mississippi.

With offices in Painesville and Hamilton, Ohio, Avery Dennison Graphics Division North America features a broad range of products for super-wide and wide-format digital printing, traditional printing technologies and cut signage applications. Its products are used in applications ranging from short-term promotional graphics such as signage, banners, labels, exhibits, displays and bus-wrap markings to long-term durable graphic applications as fleet markings, backlit signs, vehicle striping and graphics. The Graphics Division is a division of Avery Dennison Corporation, based in Pasadena, California with revenues of $5.3 billion in 2004. The Corporation develops, manufactures and markets a wide range of products for consumer and industrial markets.

Avery Dennison Graphics Division N.A.
250 Chester Street
Painesville, OH 44077
Phone: 800-443-9380
Fax: 513-682-7565
E-Mail: tiffany.witham@averydennison.com
Website URL: www.averygraphics.com