Port District Announces Major New Tenant

November 30, 2007

Port District Announces Major New Tenant
Fairfield Processing Corporation to Lease Warehouse

Granite City, Ill - The Tri-City Regional Port District announced today that it has signed a lease with Danbury, Connecticut-based Fairfield Processing Corporation for 130,000 square feet of warehouse space at its River's Edge Industrial Park.Fairfield will be relocating its distribution facility from Utah to Granite City providing a more central geographic location to its customers.

"We are so pleased to welcome Fairfield Processing to Granite City and the Port District," said Dr. Charles King, Jr., chairman of the Tri-City Regional Port District Board of Commissioners."This is another strong company for our community and one that will grow even more over time."

Fairfield Processing Corporation is a leading manufacturer of cotton and polyester fiber products for home and industry. Fairfield products include Poly-fil®, a polyester fiberfill; NU-Foam®, an alternative to traditional foam; pillow inserts; recreational pillows; cotton and polyester batting; QuiltCare®, KnitCare®, Crafter's Choice®, and Soft Touch® lines of products for quilters, knitters and the craft industry; and Poly-Pellets and polypropylene pellets used for stuffing. In addition, Fairfield has just released a new, renewable resource Bamboo product line, making them among the first in their industry to think green.

Their retail products can be found in Wal-Mart, Michael's, JoAnn Fabrics, Hancock Fabrics, and in thousands of independent retail locations worldwide.

"Tri-City Regional Port District has both the facilities we need now and the room for our future growth, making the decision to work with them an easy one," said Roy Young, president of Fairfield.

The lease with Fairfield will be effective in February, giving both parties time to gear up for the start of operations. The move from Utah will be carefully coordinated to ensure that all of their retail customers are fully serviced during the transition.

The relocation lead came from the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association. Officials at RCGA began working with Fairfield this past summer showing them numerous sites that met the rail, truck and warehousing needs of the company. Fairfield quickly narrowed in on the River's Edge site due to its rail accessibility and availability of warehouse space.

"Fairfield Processing Corporation is an outstanding company that we are honored to have in the St. Louis region," said Doug Rasmussen, director of Industrial Business Recruitment for the St. Louis RCGA. "In addition to greater St. Louis, we know Fairfield strongly considered two other Midwestern metro areas for this distribution center. Their decision to move here affirms the advantages of St. Louis' central location, market connectivity, high quality workforce, and comparatively low cost structure."

Fairfield has been family-owned since 1940 and currently employs 275 people at their three locations in Danbury, CT, Atlanta and Utah. Officials with the company plan on a small warehouse staff of five or so employees to start up operations here, and to grow that employee base over time. Fairfield officials have already begun working with Madison County Employment and Training Department, another River's Edge tenant, in an effort to fill the job openings.

"I continue to be impressed with the St. Louis RCGA and the region as a whole in our ability to attract these top-notch companies," said Dr. King. "Fairfield will be a very nice addition to the 70 other tenants at River's Edge."

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