Emerson Acquires Do+Able Products, Inc.; Broadens Emerson Storage Solu

    Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

    ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 7, 2005--Emerson Storage Solutions, a business of Emerson (NYSE:EMR) announced today it has reached agreement to buy Do+Able Products, Inc., a leading producer and marketer of ready-to-assemble wood and steel home and garage organization and storage products.
    Do+Able, based in Chino, California, posted $150 million in sales in 2004 and will become part of Emerson Storage Solutions' ClosetMaid division. Prior to this acquisition, Do+Able has been owned since 1997 by leading private equity firms Norwest Equity Partners and William E. Simon and Sons, LLC. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
    Like Emerson Storage Solutions, Do+Able has a strong presence in the home center market with customers like The Home Depot and Lowes, and the acquisition also strengthens ClosetMaid's presence in the West and Northwest, where Do+Able has established customer relationships for more than 60 years.
    "The acquisition of Do+Able Products will allow the combined businesses to provide a broader, more complete product assortment and strengthen the value we bring to existing and potential customers," said Patrick J. Sly, Emerson executive vice president and business leader for Emerson Storage Solutions.
    "The combination of ClosetMaid with Do+Able also offers significant manufacturing and procurement synergies, and takes us one step closer towards our long-term strategic goal of becoming the industry leader in innovative home storage and organization solutions."
    Do+Able, which will continue to operate under the Do+Able brand, has 368 employees and operates three manufacturing facilities, in Chino and Corona, California; and in Diboll, Texas; and also five distribution centers across the United States. Its 2004 sales reflect a 16 percent increase over the previous year.

    About Emerson Storage Solutions

    Emerson Storage Solutions(TM) is a business of Emerson (www.gotoemerson.com) providing answers to storage challenges for the consumer, commercial, healthcare, food service, and industrial markets. For information visit emersonstoragesolutions.com.

    About Emerson

    http://www.gotoemerson.com/ Emerson (NYSE: EMR), based in St. Louis, is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers through its network power, process management, industrial automation, climate technologies, and appliance and tools businesses. Sales in fiscal 2004 were $15.6 billion. For more information, visit www.GoToEmerson.com.

--30--AWG/na*

CONTACT: Emerson Storage Solutions, St. Louis Mark Polzin, 314-982-1758 www.emersonstoragesolutions.com

KEYWORD: MISSOURI INDUSTRY KEYWORD: HARDWARE CONSUMER/HOUSEHOLD SUPERMARKETS RETAIL MANUFACTURING SOURCE: Emerson

Copyright Business Wire 2005