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Isser & Associates, Inc. For: Westech Building Products; P.O. Box 567; Mount Vernon, IN 47620 For Immediate Release Insurance Adjuster Praises Fire Fighting Properties of Vinyl Fence: Westech Vinyl Fence Acts as Barrier; Saves Pastors Home From Grass Fire in Oklahoma If it had been a wooden fence and not a vinyl fence the fire would have been fueled by the wood and spread. And, it would not have stopped the fire from destroying the pastors home, says Roger Rockhold, resident adjuster in Oklahoma for GuideOne Insurance of West Des Moines, Iowa. Mr. Rockhold was impressed with the fire barrier properties of the vinyl fence that the Sooner Baptist Church in Midwest City, Okla. had installed for the home of its pastor John Coker. A grass fire had started in a neighbors yard, but the fence slowed the fire down long enough to allow the fire department to extinguish the flames before spreading into the pastors property. Although scorched and partially needing replacement, that vinyl fence saved us from having a major loss and a lot of money, he adds. GuideOne is Americas leading insurer of churches and faith-based institutions, and Mr. Rockhold believes vinyl should become the fence material of choice. I love the product, he states. The vinyl fences I see are attractive, they require no maintenance and certainly provide added protection from fire. As an insurance adjuster, I would definitely recommend vinyl fencing products to my customers. The fence, which measures about 400 linear feet, was extruded by Westech® Building Products in Mount Vernon, Indiana, and fabricated by Midland Vinyl Products, Inc., a full service custom design vinyl fabricator with locations in Broken Arrow and Oklahoma City, Okla. --more-- Vinyl Fence Acts as BarrierPage 2 Steve Kelly, co-chairman of the churchs property committee, had selected vinyl instead of wood for the pastors fence five years ago because he liked how vinyl fences looked and knew they never needed maintenance. We spent more for vinyl, but we save a lot of money each year on maintenance, he says. Theres no upkeep and you dont have to worry about painting or staining. You just hose it down to keep it clean. He admits he had no idea the six-foot high stockade fence would prove so valuable four years later in stopping the fire and saving the house. We had no rain for about three months at the end of 2005, and there were a lot of fires in the area, he continues. Another neighbor saw the smoke and called 911, but the fire department never would have been able to put out the fire in time before it reached the pastors home if the fence hadnt stopped it from spreading. The fence is still standing, but were replacing some of the panels because they show burn marks along the bottom, adds Mr. Kelly, who had installed the original fence with the help of three other members of the committee. According to Bill Zell, Sales and Marketing Manager for Westech Building Products, the severe damage to property caused by fires such as the one in Oklahoma, and by recent hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, has called greater attention in the fencing industry to the special advantages of vinyl fencing. We are seeing a major increase in product awareness and sales in vinyl fence, deck and railing products because homeowners recognize that vinyl is more durable than wood, requires virtually no maintenance and will better withstand the heat from fire and the heavy rains and winds from hurricanes, says Mr. Zell. He also asserts that as a recognized leader in the industry, Westech has engineered many design elements and performance features into its products to satisfy todays most discriminating consumers. Westechs vinyl fence, railings and deck systems are engineered and manufactured using state-of-the-art formulation and extrusion technologies that ensure its products meet and exceed industry standards. Every shipment of resin, additives and micro-ingredients that come to its extrusion facilities is tested, and every extrusion is inspected for color and gloss consistency, long-term color retention, superior impact performance and dimensional integrity. --more-- Vinyl Fence Acts as BarrierPage 3 Although vinyl fence, railing and deck systems are still in the early stages of growth, Mr. Zell compares their market position today to that of vinyl siding and windows 20 years ago, shortly before that market exploded. Since 2000, more than half the new homes built in North America have vinyl siding or windows. Westech Building Products is an affiliate of the Westlake Chemical Corporation, a vertically integrated multi-national petrochemical company with more than 40 years in the polymers business and operating 14 manufacturing facilities across North America. For additional information, visit the website at www.westechbp.com, or call toll free 800-464-8614. # # # (June 2006)