2006 Gold Medal IPM Partner Award Finalists Announced

Third Annual Awards to Honor Best at Integrated Pest Management

ATLANTA, August 7, 2006 – Orkin Commercial Services and The IPM Institute of North America today announced the nine finalists for the third annual Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards. The Awards honor commercial facilities across North America that excel at Integrated Pest Management (IPM).

IPM is an approach to pest management that stresses all available methods of control, with an emphasis on minimizing pesticide use. The Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards recognize outstanding dedication to IPM via vigilant sanitation, thorough pest documentation, prompt adherence to structural pest-management recommendations and staff participation in IPM training sessions.

“A true partnership between our staff and our customer’s staff is essential for IPM to be effective,” said Orkin Quality Assurance Director Zia Siddiqi, Ph.D. “These facilities consistently go the extra mile to make their IPM programs successful, and these awards recognize that extra effort.”

The finalists were selected from an elite pool of nominees that employ Orkin’s most rigorous IPM service offering, Gold Medal Protection, a program with a heavy emphasis on quality assurance and pest control documentation.

By accepting nominations from this top-tier group, said Siddiqi, the awards recognize “only the best of the best.”

The 2006 Gold Medal IPM Partner Award finalists are:

• Ample Industries (Franklin, Ohio) – The leading supplier of nested paperboard cartons to the restaurant and foodservice industries.

• Avgol America (Mocksville, N.C.) – A subsidiary of Avgol Industries, Avgol America is a leading producer of lightweight, non-woven materials for use in hygiene items such as disposable baby and adult diapers and a variety of feminine hygiene products.

• Endangered Species Chocolate (Indianapolis, Ind.) – The best-selling brand of natural chocolate in the natural foods category. Ten percent of net profits are donated to organizations involved in the conservation of species, habitat and humanity.

• Fairrington Transportation Corp. (Bolingbrook, Ill.) – A leading provider of integrated logistics and transportation solutions.

• Koch Foods Inc. (Franklin Park, Ill.) – “America’s Chicken Specialist.” A leader in the poultry industry providing fresh and frozen chicken to retail, restaurant and food service customers.

• Temple-Inland (Marion, Ohio) – A leading provider of corrugated packaging, forest products, real estate and financial services.

• The Cheesecake Factory Bakery Incorporated (Calabasas Hills, Calif.) – The leading manufacturer of fine baked desserts. Provides more than 50 varieties of its signature cheesecakes and other baked desserts to The Cheesecake Factory restaurants, as well as a variety of products to the wholesale club segment, retail markets and foodservice distributors.

• Tree of Life (Bloomington, Ind.) –The nation’s leading distributor of natural, organic, specialty, ethnic and gourmet food products.

• Weyerhaeuser (Golden, Colo.) – International forest products company producing softwood lumber, pulp, paper and packaging products.

“An effective IPM program is fundamental to quality assurance for sensitive facilities like these,” added Thomas Green, Ph.D., President of The IPM Institute of North America, Inc. “All of these finalists have outstanding IPM programs in place and should be very proud.”

Judges for the 2006 Gold Medal IPM Partner Awards include:

• Austin Frishman, Ph.D., B.C.E., Founder and President of AMF Pest Management Services, Inc.;

• Thomas A. Green, Ph.D., President of The IPM Institute of North America, Inc.;

• Frank Meek, B.C.E., Technical Director, Orkin, Inc.; and

• Zia Siddiqi, Ph.D., B.C.E., Director of Quality Assurance, Orkin, Inc.

Award winners will be announced in October, and award presentations will be conducted on-site at the winning facilities. Case studies on each of the winners will be posted at www.orkincommercial.com.

About The IPM Institute of North America

The IPM Institute of North America, Inc. is an independent non-profit organization formed in 1998 to foster recognition and rewards in the marketplace for goods and service providers who practice IPM. The Institute’s mission is to accelerate adoption of IPM in agriculture and communities through consumer education and development of IPM standards for self-evaluation and IPM certification. The Institute is funded by grants from government, private foundations and industry, memberships and fees for services and programs. Learn more at www.ipminstitute.org.