CHANDLER, AZ, Dec. 2, 2004 - Isola Group has completed a major portion of its European restructuring plan, including the relocation of full-scale production from the UK to its German and Italian operations. The Cumbernauld, UK, operation will maintain partial production capabilities to support quick turns and special products.

 

The company also relocated a sizeable portion of the basic research and development center to Chandler, AZ, and built a new customer service facility in Duren. 

 

President and CEO Raymond Sharpe said Europe's operating performance continues to strengthen as a result of commitments to Lean and Six Sigma manufacturing techniques. "We have appointed both regional and individual site leaders to drive the program. During December, these European leaders will join a global Isola operations team in Japan for an intensive nine-day boot camp focused on achieving world class performance."

 

The group also reported that sales increased by 19% over last year for the three-month period ending Sept. 30.

 

Sales of high performance products grew significantly from the prior year and are expected to grow 50% annually over the next two years.

 

Sharpe commented, "Our cash flow from operations has improved substantially since the company was acquired by TPG and Redfern Partners in June. This has enabled us to improve our balance sheet and fund restructuring operations and strategic investments we believe will return value to our shareholders and customers."

 

Isola has plans to continue expanding in the rapidly growing Asia market and in high performance niche markets.

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