National News Items - November 2004

Aramark Named to InformationWeek 500 Due to Advancement of Innovative Technology Practices

Philadelphia , PA , September 30, 2004 (Company Release) - Aramark has been named to CMP Media LLC's InformationWeek 500, a prestigious listing of the most innovative users of information technology in the United States .

For 16 years, the InformationWeek 500 has tracked organizations' IT agendas, providing a unique opportunity to understand and examine business practices across core areas of technology operations. Companies named to this list demonstrate a pattern of technological and organizational innovation. Aramark is among 500 companies recognized for IT innovation this year.

“Tech initiatives balance between opportunistic investment and cost effectiveness,” said Rusty Weston, editor of InformationWeek Research. “On average, the InformationWeek 500 will invest approximately 3.7% of their annual revenue on technology in 2004 for an average cash layout of $334 million. Business-intelligence tools, content-management software, and increased use of automated processes are widespread strategies aimed at squeezing more costs out of IT operations.”

“Aramark is a services business that advocates integrated systems and more cost-effective infrastructures to help drive business growth,” said Barbara Prutzman, Chief Information Officer, Aramark. “This recognition is a credit to our innovative strategies that ensure we deliver the best possible managed services to our clients and customers.”

This is the third consecutive year Aramark has been named to the InformationWeek 500.

The InformationWeek 500 is the most detailed source of industry-specific IT budget data. The research project gathered in-depth information directly from companies about how they approach and prioritize their IT investments. The research identified and ranked the companies following an extensive online and phone study.

Aramark Corporation is a world leader in providing award-winning food and facilities management services to health care institutions, universities and school districts, stadiums and arenas, international and domestic corporations, as well as providing uniform and career apparel. Aramark was ranked number one in its industry in the 2004 Fortune 500 survey and was also named one of " America 's Most Admired Companies" by Fortune magazine in 2004, consistently ranking since 1998 as one of the top three most admired companies in its industry as evaluated by peers. Headquartered in Philadelphia , Aramark has approximately 200,000 employees serving clients in 19 countries.

For further information, contact Kristine Grow, Corporate and Financial Media Relations, Aramark Corp., 215-238-3538, grow-kristine@aramark.com

Update: New Step Towards Maintaining Quotas on Imports from China

USA , October 25, 2004 , (Emerging Textiles) - The United States will re-impose limits on imports of socks from China , US interagency CITA last Friday announced. The decision is based on effective surge of shipments from China after quotas were eliminated in 2002. For certain socks, however, the measure is only based on the threat of a possible surge in imports in the near future. This is a clear indication that Washington could maintain quotas on most important apparel categories in 2005, as recently requested by US textile association NCTO.

The US CITA last Friday "determined that the US market for socks (categories 332/432 and 632) is being disrupted and that there is a threat of further disruption due to imports from China ." The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) is an interagency in charge of managing textile quotas.

Limits were removed on these categories after China joined the WTO, effective from 1 January 2002 . Since imports from China consecutively surged, the Domestic Manufacturers Committee (DMC) of the US Hosiery Association last June asked the CITA to re-impose quotas, as allowed by WTO agreement on China 's accession.

Under the same agreement, quotas will apply as soon as the United States officially requests consultations with China over the decision to re-impose barriers.

At the end of last year, the CITA already re-imposed limits on imports from China in categories 222 (knit fabrics), 349/649 (cotton and MMF bras) and 350/650 (cotton and MMF dressing gowns and robes). few days ago, US textile industry association NCTO officially filed petitions requesting to maintain quotas on imports from China in most important apparel categories, including 347/348 (cotton trousers) or 338/339 (cotton knit shirts).

Since related quotas will not be eliminated before the end of the current year, these latest petitions are not based on an effective surge in shipments but on the threat of a possible surge in imports.

The US administration already said it would accept such threat-based petitions. WTO's agreement over China 's accession is not crystal-clear on this issue, the US textile lobby therefore trying to take advantage of such a loophole.

Shipments from China were up 496 % in volume terms in 2002 before rising 272% in 2003. Imports nearly doubled in the first eight months of 2004, compared with the twelve months of 2003.

More important, China 's share of total US imports rose from 1.09% in volume terms in 2001 up to 23.55% in January-August 2004. In category 632 (MMF hosiery), China ' share of US imports even jumped to 68.11% when only selecting products under investigation. In category 332 (cotton hosiery), however, China 's share was limited to 0.35% of total US imports in the first eight months of 2004.

The US Customs just warned that heavy penalties could be decided against certain importers, after products from China entered the US territory under another origin. Entries under the three related categories did not claim country of origin China but were effectively from China , the US Customs discovered.

Carlsbad PD Put Out Bid for New Uniforms

Carlsbad, October 17, 2004, (Current-Argus, reported by Karen Polly) - A newer blue uniform may be worn by Carlsbad’s finest after the City Council approved the advertisement of an invitation to bid for a specific brand name for police uniforms.

Acting Chief Mike Hill said the Police Department has an obligation to provide three summer uniforms and three winter uniforms for each officer through the union contract. “We have tried over at least the last three years that I’ve been in administration to find a good quality uniform that the officers like, that is durable,” Hill said, noting that there have been deficiencies in quality and craftsmanship over the past few years.

But some tenured officers suggested using a brand of uniform called Flying Cross because it was high quality and durable, so Hill requested that the city specifically put out bids for that brand. “We’re just trying to find a good product that we can find within a reasonable amount of time,” Hill said. “Hopefully we’ll make it this time.”

City Administrator Jon Tully said Wednesday that although the city frequently puts out bids for specific brands of products, it has never been done for police uniforms. “Uniforms have been a problem for years,” Tully said, noting that getting the correct color and a durable product in bulk has been problematic. “What we did was finally get the officers to look at various ones they’ve had through the years. They’ve found one that they like, and clearly, it’s a superior uniform.”

The department will need about 240 sets of uniforms for 45 officers and will also need uniforms for dispatchers, records, animal control, facility maintenance and mechanics, although they do not all wear the navy blue police uniforms. The police uniforms are expected to cost about $30,000 this year, Hill said.
Hill and Tully both said the uniforms must be purchased annually, and the new advertisement for bids has nothing to do with recent controversies in the department surrounding Police Chief Connie Mack Riley, who is on paid administrative leave.

Textile & Apparel Job Loss in September 2004: Adding Up the Numbers

October 11, 2004, (Fibre2fashion) - Textiles and retailers and apparel manufacturers continued to cut jobs in September 2004 even as the economy added 96,000 jobs in a weaker-than-expected employment report.

According to the US Department of Labor’s report released on Friday, “The number of jobs at general merchandise stores fell 10,700 in September to 2.809 million, while employment at apparel and accessories stores fell 6,100 to 1.349 million and employment at department stores fell 8,600 to 1.59 million.”

Textile and apparel manufacturers cut a combined 2,300 from payrolls in September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s employment report released Friday.
Total employment in the two sectors in September was 695,800 compared with 723,700 in September 2003, reflecting further attrition in industries pummeled by what many executives claim is low-coast imports, primarily from China.

Textile mill employment fell by 700 last month and stood at 234,100, a decline of 16,100 jobs against a year ago, while textile mill product employment inched up by 100 to 178,900 last month and was up by 5,200 compared with, a year ago.

Apparel factories axed 6,100 jobs from payrolls to employ 282,200 last month; the sector lost 17,000 compared with, a year ago. Since Bush took office in January 2001, employment in the textile industry has plunged by 165,000, while employment in the apparel industry sharply fell by 186,000.

Textile groups once again seized on the losses as they turned up the pressure on the Bush administration to restrain imports from China, which they claim has devastated their industry.

Auggie Tantillo, Executive Director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition claimed, “Failure to effectively use the China safeguard will make this 2,300 pale in comparison to the hemorrhage in jobs next year.”

“China has already consumed vast portions of the US market where quotas have been removed and they’ve got the capacity to inflict serious damage to the remaining US workers when the highly sensitive categories are released on Jan 1.”

Chef Direct and Bragard Announce Distribution Alliance

Schenectady , NY , October 6, 1004 (Company Release) - The national catalog distributor Chef Direct has been named the first distributor catalog to carry the Elite Line of Professional Chef Clothing from Bragard.

Bragard Professional Chef Uniforms have long been the upper echelon standard for the Executive Chef and now has one of the strongest National catalog distributors to showcase their fine line of products.

Chef Direct will feature Eight of Bragard’s top selling Chef Coats in their current Fall 2004 / Edition 15.0 Catalog. According to Harvey Singer, President of Chef Direct, “adding the Bragard line will allow us to service the “highest-end” Executive Chef, in addition to the rest of the restaurant staff including the entire wait staff. We have always been known as a leading supplier in the “basics” for the kitchen and wait staff uniforms. With Bragard, we can establish ourselves as a leader for the Executive Chef as well”.

With a complete in-house embroidery system, any Bragard coat can be custom embroidered and shipped out in a minimal amount of days.

Chef Direct also carries a complete line from CHEFWORKS, CHEF REVIVAL and NEW CHEF FASHIONS, in addition to their own complete line of basic line cooks chef coats, kitchen shirts, pants, headwear and accessories including footwear and aprons.

Chef Direct can be reached at: 800-789-chef (2433), or visit www.chefdirect.co,

Superior Uniform Group Announces Earnings for the Quarter Ended September 30, 2004

Seminole, FL, October 25, 2004, (PRNewswire) - Superior Uniform Group, Inc., manufacturer of uniforms, career apparel and accessories, today announced that for the third quarter ended September 30, 2004, sales were $36,960,340 compared with 2003 third quarter sales of $36,016,237. Net income was $1,803,113 or $.24 per common share (diluted), compared with net income of $1,989,887 or $.27 per common share (diluted) in the 2003 third quarter.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2004 , sales were $106,125,651, compared with sales of $102,559,641 in the nine months ended September 30, 2003 . Net earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2004 were $4,210,914 or $.55 per common share (diluted) versus net earnings of $3,899,138 or $.53 per common share (diluted) in the first nine months of 2003.

Michael Benstock, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "The increase in revenues for the quarter resulted from the first quarter acquisition of UniVogue and increasing revenues from new national accounts landed over the previous year, offset by continued soft demand from our existing customer base. Earnings for the quarter continued to be negatively impacted by the costs associated with our efforts to prepare for compliance with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. We incurred an additional $272,000 in pre-tax costs for outside consultants to assist in this process during the third quarter of 2004. While this phase of the project is now winding down, we will continue to incur increased costs in this area. We are optimistic that the investments we have made, and will continue to make, in our sales and marketing management team over the previous year will begin to show positive results in our sales and earnings as the economy improves."

Superior Uniform Group, through its marketing brands -- Fashion Seal®, Fashion Seal Healthcare(TM) Martin's®, Empire®, Fashion Seal Hospitality(TM), Worklon®, Universal®, Sope Creek® and UniVogue(TM) -- manufactures and sells a wide range of uniforms, corporate I.D., career apparel and accessories for the hospital and healthcare fields; hotels; fast food and other restaurants; and public safety, industrial, transportation and commercial markets, as well as corporate and resort embroidered sportswear.

From Long Gray Dresses to Lab Coats and Scrubs: A History of Nurses’ Uniforms

Pittsburgh , PA, October 12, 2004 (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) - Lynn Houweling, a nursing doctoral student at University of Pennsylvania , has researched the historical evolution of the nursing uniform. The following are excerpts from a review she wrote for the American Journal of Nursing's April 2004 issue.

Why white? Florence Nightingale's uniform for nurses in the 1850s during the Crimean War featured gray tweed dresses with long sleeves and long, full skirts, brown scarf and white cap to distinguish them from cooks, laundresses and the prostitutes known to follow soldiers.

During the Civil War, white aprons and bonnets were worn over brown, black or gray dresses. All-white uniforms emerged in the early 1900s as a symbol of sterility in response to the growing awareness of germs and their role in spreading infection. Black shoes at first accompanied the white uniform. It wasn't until the invention of white leather shoe polish that white shoes became popular.

Scrubs were introduced in the 1960s, and during this era of feminism, the white uniform became a symbol of oppression. The cap, too, was rejected as unfashionable and cumbersome. Scientists also determined they may have carried bacteria.

When hospitals in the 1970s discontinued the practice of laundering nurses' uniforms to save money, nurses were in charge of buying and caring for their dress. As Houweling wrote: "This seemingly small change in fact created a shift in the power dynamic that had existed between hospitals and nurses for 100 years."

Pantsuits were introduced, and nurses in advanced specialties began wearing lab coats. Shirts of all shapes and colors and patterns became the norm, not only for nurses but most of the hospital support.