Chuck Etchells Racing sponsor annoucement

CHUCK ETCHELLS AND WARNER WALLCOVERINGS LOOK TO COVER THE FIELD

Putnam, Connecticut, March 15, 1999 - Chuck Etchells and Warner Wallcoverings, Inc. today announced the formation of a strategic alliance between Etchells Racing, Etchells' non-racing business, Union Roto-Engraving, and Warner. The purpose of this relationship is to promote the Warner name and specifically the Sanitas brand of wallcoverings. Don Boston, Vice President of Product Development for Warner Wallcoverings sees the association with the Etchells Racing team and NHRA Winston Drag Racing as the perfect outlet.

"We have done business with Union Roto-Engraving for many years," stated Boston. "At the same time, I have always been a race fan. As a result of our involvement with Chuck Etchells, I was able to attend several NHRA events. It was not long before I realized that racing presented a tremendous opportunity for my company to reach an entirely new segment of consumers. With Chuck's assistance, we have been able to put this program together. We see our association with the Chuck Etchells Racing team as the perfect means to inform the public of the unlimited decorating potential of our products and to promote the Sanitas brand, which for ninety-eight years has been virtually synonymous with wallcoverings."

Warner Wallcoverings, Inc. is a Chicago-based company with over sixty years in the wallcovering field. In the last few months, there have been some major developments that shall further cement Warner's position as a leader in the industry. First, Warner is prepared to launch an exciting line of borders featuring the stars and cars of the NHRA and NASCAR circuits. More importantly, Warner has reached an agreement to be the exclusive U.S. distributor for Sanitas, a brand owned and manufactured by Blue Mountain Wallcoverings of Toronto, Canada.

"Blue Mountain Wallcoverings is excited to be a part of the Etchells/Warner team," said John Hooker, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Blue Mountain. "Our Sanitas brand is acknowledged as the easiest wallcovering to hang, to clean and to remove, and we look forward to bringing it to an entirely new market."

As a result of this announcement, the Etchells Racing Camaro shall display the logos of both Warner Wallcoverings and Sanitas starting with this week's Mac Tools Gatornationals in Gainesville, Florida.

"This three-way arrangement is not a sponsorship, but an investment of effort by the parties involved," explained Etchells. "Each company has a specific goal for this project, and we shall work together to achieve them. For Chuck Etchells Racing, the benefits are three-fold. First, it offers us the chance to bring a new company into the sport. As such, it allows us to demonstrate the effectiveness of using drag racing, and our team in particular, as a promotional tool. Finally, I am able to further strengthen my relationship with long-time business partners outside of the racing world."