Foamex International Names Thomas E. Chorman Chief Executive Officer

    LINWOOD, Pa.--Oct. 18, 2002--Foamex International Inc. , the world's leading manufacturer of flexible polyurethane and advanced polymer foam products, today announced that Thomas E. Chorman has been appointed to the position of Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.
    Foamex also announced that Peter W. Johnson, former President and Chief Operating Officer, has chosen to resign from the Company. Mr. Chorman will have responsibility for all line and staff functions.
    "I am extremely pleased to have Tom as our new CEO," said Marshall Cogan, Chairman and Founder of Foamex. "This is a crucial time for Foamex, as the Company looks to improve profitability, carry out Project Transformation to contain costs and implement price increases. As an accomplished, multifaceted executive with over 20 years of experience, Tom has proven to be an invaluable member of the management team. On behalf of the Board, I welcome Tom to his new role, and we look forward to his continued contributions to the Company."
    Mr. Chorman commented: "I am committed to very quickly improving our productivity and profitability, focusing our business operations, and building on our customer and employee relationships. Foamex has a great deal of untapped potential, and I believe that we have the people and the skills to deliver much better results."
    Mr. Cogan added: "We thank Pete Johnson for his many contributions to Foamex over the past year. Pete conducted himself in a remarkably admirable way while focusing on improving the Company's operations. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I wish him well in his future endeavors."
    Mr. Chorman, 48, joined Foamex in September of 2001 as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and later assumed additional responsibilities as Chief Administrative Officer of Foamex. Among his other responsibilities, Mr. Chorman played an active role in building relationships with Foamex's customers and vendors.
    Prior to joining Foamex, Mr. Chorman was Chief Financial Officer of Ansell Healthcare, Inc, a global manufacturer of medical and industrial products, where he spearheaded significant profitability-improvement and cash-generation projects. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Chorman was Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer of Armstrong's Worldwide Floor Product Operations, where he initiated and directed two major acquisitions. Earlier in his career, Mr. Chorman spent 13 years with Procter & Gamble, in positions with increasing responsibility. While at Procter & Gamble, Mr. Chorman was responsible for the company's manufacturing reorganization of its North American supply chain. In addition, as Global Finance Manager and CFO for Corporate New Ventures, he developed and managed Procter & Gamble's strategic new product development process.
    In connection with his work at Procter & Gamble, Mr. Chorman was awarded the International Franz Edelman Award for his work in operations research management science, and his work in new product portfolio and supply chain management are now part of the curriculum at top graduate schools.
    Mr. Chorman holds an MBA from Rutgers Graduate School of Management and an undergraduate degree in economics from City University of New York.
    The Company also announced that it would initiate a search for a new CFO.

    About Foamex International Inc.

    Foamex, headquartered in Linwood, PA, is the world's leading producer of comfort cushioning for bedding, furniture, carpet cushion and automotive markets. The Company also manufactures high-performance polymers for diverse applications in the industrial, aerospace, defense, electronics and computer industries as well as filtration and acoustical applications for the home. For more information visit the Foamex web site at http://www.foamex.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    This press release contains, and oral statements made from time to time by representatives of the Company may contain, forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, those relating to completion of the operational restructuring as currently contemplated and the currently anticipated benefits of the restructuring, including those relating to the work force reductions, cost savings and restructuring charges from Project Transformation, the expected benefits of expanding the use of VPF technology, the Company's ability to introduce new products, enhance sales growth and margins and the outlook for the Company's financial performance. These forward-looking statements are affected by risks, uncertainties and assumptions that the Company makes about, among other things, its ability to implement customer selling price increases in response to higher raw material costs, raw material price increases, general economic conditions, conditions in the capital markets, the interest rate environment, the level of automotive production, carpet production, furniture and bedding production and housing starts, the completion of various restructuring/consolidation plans, the achievement of management's business plans, its capital and debt structure (including various financial covenants), litigation and changes in environmental legislation and environmental conditions and other factors mentioned in the documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission. While the Company believes that its assumptions regarding the foregoing matters are reasonable, any of the assumptions could be inaccurate, and therefore there can be no assurance that the Company's forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Additional information that could cause actual results to vary materially from the results anticipated may be found in the Company's most recent Form 10-K and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers should be aware that any forward-looking statement made in this press release or elsewhere by the Company speaks only as of the date on which it is made, and the Company disclaims any obligation or intent to update any of the factors listed above or forward-looking statements.