Apogee Pleased With ITC Affirmative Injury Determination in Chinese Replacement Glass Windshields Investigation

    MINNEAPOLIS--March 20, 2002--Apogee Enterprises, Inc. announced today that the U.S. International Trade 0Commission (ITC) has made an affirmative injury determination in the antidumping investigation on automotive replacement glass (ARG) windshields from China. The decision, which was based on a vote of 3 to 2, paves the way for the imposition of an antidumping duty order.
    "This is very good news for Apogee and our ARG windshield subsidiary, Viracon/Curvlite, as well as the entire domestic industry," announced Patricia A. Beithon, Apogee's general counsel. "Chinese imports have more than tripled their share of the domestic market since 1998. The only way they have been able to do that is by selling at very low, dumped prices. The ITC's record showed that comparisons of U.S. producer and importer prices revealed underselling in more than 95 percent of the comparisons. Imposition of an antidumping duty order will help restore fair pricing to the U.S. market," added Beithon.
    The Commission's decision caps an investigation that began with the filing of an antidumping petition by Apogee, PPG Industries, Inc., and Safelite Glass Corp. on February 28, 2001. Apogee's wholly-owned subsidiary, Viracon/Curvlite, produces ARG windshields in Owatonna, Minnesota. The Department of Commerce, which has responsibility for determining whether the imports that are the subject of the investigation are being sold at less than normal value (i.e., whether there is dumping), issued revised final dumping margins earlier this month. The new margins are as follows: 11.80 percent for FYG; 3.71 percent for Xinyi; 9.84 percent for Benxun, Changchun Pilkington, Guilin Pilkington, Wuhan Pilkington, and TCGI; and 124.50 percent for all other Chinese producer/exporters. The Commerce Department also clarified that the scope of the order covers replacement windshields for all motor vehicles covered by Chapter 87 of the Harmonized Tariff Schedules, including buses, heavy trucks, recreational vehicles and farm equipment, as well as passenger cars, light trucks and sport utility vehicles. Apogee Enterprises, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is a world leader in technologies involving the design and development of value-added glass products, services and systems. The company is organized in three segments:

--	Architectural products and services companies design, engineer, fabricate and install the walls of glass and windows comprising the outside skin of commercial and institutional buildings.
--	Large-scale optical technologies companies develop and produce high technology glass that enhances the visual performance of products for the display, imaging and picture framing industries.
--	Automotive replacement glass and services companies fabricate, repair and replace automobile windshields and windows. Businesses in this segment are: Harmon AutoGlass, a leading U.S. chain of retail auto glass replacement and repair stores; and Viracon/Curvlite, a leading U.S. fabricator of aftermarket foreign and domestic car windshields.