PRESS RELEASE
9 May 2001

For Additional Information Contact:
Terri Rondeau, Director, Corporate Communications
Besser Company
801 Johnson Street
Alpena, Michigan 49707
Phone: (989) 354-1040 Fax: (989) 354-3120
Email: trondeau@besser.com

Alpena High School Students to Get an Inside Look at Besser Company

Michigan Manufacturers Week is being celebrated from 7 – 12 May 2001. In recognition of this statewide event Besser Company has invited over 80 Alpena High School students and instructors to tour the Alpena facility on 11 May 2001.

The students will participate in specialized tours of Besser that will focus on their specific areas of interest. Four distinct tours: engineering, welding, machine trades and marketing will explore careers in these fields. Joining the students will be John "Mac" MacIlroy, President and CEO of the Michigan Manufacturers Association (MMA), the organization sponsoring Michigan Manufacturers Week, who will be taking his first tour of Besser. Tours will take place from 8 a.m. until 10:15 a.m.

“Bringing students to Besser allows them to actually see what the work environment is like, hear about the educational requirements that are necessary for certain careers and look at the products that are manufactured,” commented Janet Behnke, Safety and Training Supervisor at Besser. “This is the third year that Besser has conducted tours in recognition of Michigan Manufacturers Week. The feedback from students has been positive. Students like to see what the real world is like. The benefit to Besser is that we have the opportunity to get the students thinking about careers that are available in their hometown.”

Interesting facts about the role of manufacturing in Michigan from Jean B. Eggemeyer, Director of Communications for the MMA:

• There are approximately 17,000 manufacturing facilities in Michigan.

• Michigan was once again ranked number one in the nation for new plants and expansions, with 2,358 new facilities in 2000, earning Site Selection magazine's "Governor's Cup" for the fourth year in a row.

• More than 950,000 Michigan residents are directly employed in manufacturing.

• The average weekly wage of $822 for manufacturing employees is 22 percent higher than the state average wage.

• Michigan has one of the world's greatest concentrations of research and intellectual talent, with more than 500 Research and Development facilities.

• Manufacturing accounts for more than $70 billion of Michigan's gross state product.

Jesse Besser founded Besser Company in 1904. The Alpena based company designs and manufacturers complete systems for the production of concrete masonry units and concrete pipe. The Besser Family of Companies includes manufacturing locations in Alpena, Oscoda and Holland, Michigan; Sioux City and Boone Iowa; San Antonio, Texas; Compton, California and Quebec, Canada.

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