FLE Fleetwood Enterprises

RIVERSIDE, Calif., March 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Fleetwood Homes division of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FLE), an industry leader in factory-built housing for more than five decades, today announced that its Trendsetter Homes unit has been chosen as a supplier to provide modular military housing to the U.S. Army at Ft. Bliss in El Paso, Texas. Terms of the multi-million dollar contract were not disclosed. Trendsetter Homes, Fleetwood's modular division, has begun offsite construction of permanent barracks at its modular housing facility in Texas. During the first phase of the contract, Trendsetter Homes will build seven modular apartment buildings totaling 470 units, which will house 940 Army personnel. The Company anticipates that this initial phase will enable full-time operation of its Belton, Texas, plant for at least seven consecutive months. The Army contemplates additional phases for this project, as well as a number of similar projects at other bases, all of which Trendsetter will also pursue. "Our modular building process will allow us to accelerate the Army's ability to provide high-quality, up-to-date housing with minimal disruption to base operations," said John H. Riddle, Vice President of Trendsetter Homes. "Because these apartments will be built offsite, we will significantly decrease the congestion, noise, and debris issues associated with conventional site-built construction. Modular housing construction ensures a remarkably cleaner and safer job site." Undertaken by the U.S. Army in support of the Military Housing Transformation Initiative, the project is part of an effort to significantly upgrade on-base housing at Ft. Bliss, which encompasses 1.1 million acres of land. It is also the site of the Army's Air Defense Artillery Center, responsible for the education and training of Air Defense Artillery soldiers and units. Fleetwood has teamed with several companies that have complementary expertise in various areas of development and construction. Hensel Phelps is the prime contractor and owner of the government contract; the architectural and engineering leadership is being provided by The Benham Companies; and The Warrior Group, which is tasked with delivering completed living units, contracted with Fleetwood and All American Building Systems to construct the modular units. For more information about Trendsetter Homes, please visit http://www.trend-setterhomes.com/. About Trendsetter Homes Trendsetter Homes is the modular housing division of Fleetwood Homes, which operates 20 facilities nationwide and is headquartered in Riverside, Calif. Trendsetter produces modular residential and commercial buildings in a factory-controlled environment for residential builders and the military. The Trendsetter Homes website can be accessed at http://www.trend-setterhomes.com/. About Fleetwood Fleetwood Homes is the housing brand of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE:FLE), a leading producer of recreational vehicles and manufactured homes through its subsidiaries. This Fortune 1000 company, headquartered in Riverside, Calif., is dedicated to providing quality, innovative products that offer exceptional value to its customers. Fleetwood operates facilities strategically located throughout the nation, including recreational vehicle, factory-built housing and supply subsidiary plants. For more information, visit the Company's website at http://www.fleetwood.com/. This press release contains certain forward-looking statements and information based on the beliefs of Fleetwood's management as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, Fleetwood's management. Such statements reflect the current views of Fleetwood with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties, and assumptions, including risk factors identified in Fleetwood's 10-K and other SEC filings. These risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the length of production time for this military project; the potential of future military projects to pursue; the lack of assurance that the Company will regain sustainable profitability in the foreseeable future; the Company's ability to comply with financial tests and covenants on existing debt obligations and to obtain future financing needed in order to execute its business strategies; the volatility of the Company's stock price; the impact of ongoing weakness in the manufactured housing market and more recent weakness in the recreational vehicle market; the effect of global tensions, fuel prices, interest rates, and other factors on consumer confidence, which in turn may reduce demand for Fleetwood's products, particularly RV products; the availability and cost of wholesale and retail financing for the Company's products, especially manufactured housing; the cyclical and seasonal nature of both the manufactured housing and recreational vehicle industries; expenses and uncertainties associated with the entry into new business segments or the manufacturing, development and introduction of new products; the potential for excessive retail inventory levels in the Company's industries, especially the recreational vehicle business; potential increases in the frequency of product liability, wrongful death, class action, and other legal or regulatory actions; the highly competitive nature of our industries; lack of acceptance of Fleetwood's products; and repurchase agreements with floorplan lenders, which could result in increased costs. Contact: Kathy Munson, Director of Investor Relations, 951-351-3650 JoAnne Foist, Director of Marketing Services, 951-351-3367 DATASOURCE: Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. CONTACT: Kathy Munson, Director of Investor Relations, +1-951-351-3650, or JoAnne Foist, Director of Marketing Services, +1-951-351-3367, both of Fleetwood Enterprises, Inc. Web site: http://www.trend-setterhomes.com/ Web site: http://www.fleetwood.com/

Copyright