Lighthouse for the Blind-St. Louis Hosts Top Management and Board of Directors of ZEP Incorporated

MARCH 21, 2012, St. Louis, Missouri… John K. Morgan, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Atlanta-based ZEP, Inc. (NYSE: ZEP), which posted record fiscal 2011 sales of $646 million, brought his top management team and the ZEP Board of Directors to the Lighthouse for the Blind-St. Louis manufacturing plant in Berkeley, Missouri, today for a tour and visits with employees who are blind and visually impaired. The ZEP group was accompanied by Claudia “Scottie” Knott, Chief Operating Officer of National Industries for the Blind (NIB), and Shawn Spengler, NIB Director of Product Management for Janitorial-Sanitary, Maintenance, Repair and Operations Products.

Brian Houser, Lighthouse Director of Sales & Marketing, said, “This high-profile visit was truly an honor for the Lighthouse and our employees who are blind and visually impaired. This visit gave ZEP and NIB top management an opportunity to see the success of the Lighthouse production operations and the AbilityOne™ Program in action at the Berkeley plant. We are very proud and pleased to have been selected for this exclusive top management visit, which the Lighthouse believes will enhance our business relationships with both ZEP and NIB in the future.”

Last year, the Lighthouse and ZEP established a co-branding agreement for the Berkeley plant to manufacture aerosol metered air freshener products for ZEP. That partnership is in conjunction with the AbilityOne Program, a federal initiative to help people who are blind and disabled find employment through nonprofit agencies that sell products to the U.S. government. AbilityOne’s SKILCRAFT® brand is recognized by 95 percent of federal government purchasers. The aerosol metered air freshener products manufactured by the Lighthouse are being distributed through AbilityOne sales channels. The program is a coordinated effort by NIB and NISH, National Industries for People with Significant Disabilities.

Today’s visit with Lighthouse employees began with greetings to the Lighthouse staff and employees from Tom Moffett, Group President of ZEP Sales & Service, North America, and Craig Hallman, ZEP National Account Executive-Federal Government, followed by remarks from NIB’s “Scottie” Knott and Shawn Spengler, who discussed the AbilityOne program. The 16-member VIP group viewed a Lighthouse video introduced by Brian Houser that chronicles Lighthouse manufacturing and production systems, followed by a 45-minute tour led by Clint Cruse, Lighthouse Vice President of Manufacturing, and visits with employees operating a liquid fill production line, two aerosol fill production lines, a batching facility and the plant’s state-of-the-art chemistry lab. The group then participated in a Q & A session and posed for photographs before departing.

NIB recently conducted an extensive analysis of the AbilityOne Program and found that for every $1 that the federal government spends on supplies and services through AbilityOne, $3.33 is returned to the federal government via decreased transfer payments (Medicaid, SSDL, etc.), and increased income and FICA taxes, thereby saving taxpayers money while fulfilling an important social mission.

ZEP Inc. (www.ZEP.com) is a leading producer and marketer of a wide range of high-efficacy commercial cleaning products and maintenance solutions for industrial, institutional, and consumer markets. The breadth of the ZEP’s commercial cleaning product portfolio provides customized solutions to a broad customer base that includes manufacturers, food processors and preparers, restaurants, hospitals, schools, municipalities, government agencies, hotels and car washes. ZEP's commercial cleaning and equipment maintenance product portfolio includes multiple brand offerings of anti-bacterial and industrial hand care products, cleaners, degreasers, deodorizers, disinfectants, floor finishes, sanitizers, and pest and weed control products, as well as other high performance, professional grade chemical products. Founded in 1937, ZEP emerged as a public company in 2007 following its spin-off from Acuity Brands.

Based in Alexandria, VA, the National Industries for the Blind (www.nib.org) is a nonprofit organization focused on its mission to enhance the opportunities for economic and personal independence of persons who are blind, primarily through creating, sustaining and improving employment.  NIB and its network of 90 associated nonprofit agencies nationwide serve as the largest employer for people who are blind by the sale of SKILCRAFT® products and services through the AbilityOne Program, established by the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act. 

Also known as LHB Industries, Lighthouse for the Blind-Saint Louis is a nonprofit entity that helps adults and children who are visually impaired maintain dignity and independence by offering Employment, Education and Support Services. The Lighthouse currently employs nearly 70 people who are legally blind at its plants in the cities of Berkeley and Overland in St. Louis County. The Lighthouse and its employees manufacture, assemble, warehouse and sell high-quality products to government and business customers nationwide including first aid kits, medical kits, catheters, aerosol and liquid paints, aerosol and liquid cleaning products, eco-friendly products and many others.

The Lighthouse sales for fiscal year 2011 were more than $32 million. All sales revenues directly support Lighthouse programs including Professional Career Development; Special Technology and Adaptive Resources for Students (STARS); Summer Jobs for Students; Continuing Education; Arts & Entertainment Accessibility; Low Vision Aid; and many others available for individuals who are legally blind and visually impaired in Missouri and Southwestern Illinois.

For information, contact Brittney Smithers, Marketing & Sales Specialist, at toll-free 800.542.3697, or 314.423.4333, or visit the website http://www.lhbindustries.com.  Media contact: Jeff Dunlap at 314.993.6925.

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