CHEP Expands Depot Network To Better Serve Canadian Customers

    TORONTO--March 19, 2001--

    New facilities in Toronto, Calgary and Winnipeg augment nationwide
    service system Space is added to Vancouver and Moncton, NB depots

    To exceed the requirements of customers in Canada, CHEP has added three new depots and dramatically expanded two others within the past 12 months.
    The action will ensure that manufacturers, distributors and retailers receive the best possible pallet and container rental services from CHEP for the foreseeable future.
    CHEP more than tripled its premium service facility space in the greater Toronto area when it moved to a custom-designed 156,000 square foot building in Western Mississauga. The CHEP premium service center in Brampton will remain open to handle the rapidly increasing volume. The company will be moving to a new 74,000 square foot facility in Calgary in May, recently moved to a new 48,000 square foot facility in Winnipeg and has expanded its facilities in Vancouver and Moncton, NB. All of these locations are managed by CHEP personnel.
    "The CHEP team in Canada has worked extremely hard and experienced tremendous growth over the past five years. That growth has demanded the rapid expansion of service centers to meet the needs of our existing and new customers," said Mike Dimond, President of CHEP Canada.
    Dimond added that CHEP Canada has made significant inroads in the grocery, consumer packaged goods, hardware and discount retail industries during the last few years by providing top quality shipping platforms and excellent service. There has also been growth in the use of returnable plastic containers in the produce industry, which has required the company to put in place new material handling systems and processes that have been made possible by the new and expanded facilities.
    CHEP is an international pallet and container pooling company servicing manufacturers and distributors in the consumer goods industries; grower/shippers and receivers in the produce industry; packers, processors and distributors in the meat industry; home improvement, hardware & housewares manufacturers and distributors and suppliers and assembly plants in the automotive industry. CHEP supplies its customers with high quality pallets and reusable containers from a comprehensive depot and premium service center network. The company is part of the worldwide CHEP organization, which operates in 38 countries on six continents and controls more than 147 million pallets and 29 million containers. CHEP operating principles, service organization and computer tracking systems give participants a simple solution and improved efficiency in product delivery. Additional information on CHEP is available at www.chep.com.