Safety Eyewear - UVEX

Defining itself around the needs of the protective eyewear market for decades, Uvex Safety is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of safety spectacles, goggles and other eyewear for construction, mining, transportation and other industries as well as educational, medical and laboratory science applications. The company has enjoyed significant growth in recent years and has grown from manufacturing several million pairs of eyewear to tens of millions of pairs per year.

Uvex has responded to the demands of the safety eyewear market by designing and producing a wide variety of models, ranging from general-purpose, budget-conscious offerings to specially developed high-tech lenses for applications like welding, laser work, and light spectrum control. Our uvextreme AF anti-fog and ultradura scratch resistance coatings are recognized as the best in the industry.

The key to uvex's success has been our unique ability to integrate practical features with appealing style and innovative design. Uvex protective eyewear is both functional and fashionable – it changes workers' attitudes from "have to wear" to "want to wear." As safety moves steadily toward the top of the list of priorities for business and industry, uvex will continue to deliver the best products and equipment to meet the needs of this growing market.

Research and development keeps us ahead of the competition
Uvex continues to introduce innovations in protective eyewear. Our newest lens coating development is uvextreme AF, a breakthrough anti-fog lens coating technology that provides unequaled protection against lens fogging while maintaining excellent anti-scratch, anti-static, and anti-UV properties. Also new to the market is the uvex skyper X2TM, which provides sporty styling and lightweight comfort while offering excellent peripheral vision and protection, and the uvex U2TM, which has a unique lens design that incorporates the simplicity of a uni-lens with a sleek, contemporary look

Our market growth continues
Uvex Safety is a division of Bacou USA Safety, Inc. , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bacou USA. Headquartered at the uvex facility in Smithfield, Rhode Island, Bacou USA acquired Uvex Safety in 1993, and since then, the company has made several other acquisitions to broaden its product offerings in the protective equipment market. Bacou USA acquisitions include:

• Perfect Fit Glove, a top manufacturer of cut and abrasion resistant gloves (April 1999)
  
• Howard Leight, a leading hearing protection manufacturer (February 1998)
  
• Survivair, an industry-leading manufacturer of respiratory protection devices (May 1997)
  
• Pro-Tech Respirators, a manufacturer of respiratory protection devices (March 1995; combined with Survivair in October 1997)
  
• Biosystems, Inc., a maker of gas monitors and equipment for testing self-contained breathing apparatuses (September 1997)
  
• Titmus Optical, the leading U.S. manufacturer and supplier of prescription safety frames (September 1995)
  
• Lase-R Shield, a manufacturer of glass-lens prescription and non-prescription laser protective eyewear (June 1997)
  
• Shares of Bacou USA stock are traded on the NYSE under the symbol BAU. For more information about Bacou USA, select the Investor Relations link on the Bacou USA home page.

United Fire Health & Safety Equipment Company, 4611 NE Martin Luther King Blvd., Portland, OR 97211. Tel: 503-249-0771; Fax: 503-249-0572.