Exhibit
99.1
September
1,
2005 Steven
F. Nicola
CFO,
Secretary & Treasurer
412:442-8262
MATTHEWS
INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION
ANNOUNCES
EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENTS
PITTSBURGH,
PA, September 1, 2005 -- Matthews International Corporation (NASDAQ NMS: MATW)
today announced the appointment of David J. DeCarlo as Vice Chairman of Matthews
International Corporation and Joseph C. Bartolacci as President and Chief
Operating Officer of Matthews International Corporation. The appointments are
effective September 1, 2005.
Mr.
DeCarlo joined Matthews in 1985 as Director of Financial Planning and was
appointed to head the Bronze Division later that year. He has recently been
responsible for both the Company’s bronze and casket operations as Group
President, Bronze and York Casket Divisions. Mr. Bartolacci joined Matthews in
1997 as General Counsel. In 1999, he became President of Caggiati, S.p.A., the
Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary in Parma, Italy. In 2000, Mr. Bartolacci also
assumed responsibility for Matthews’ European graphics operations. He returned
to North America in December 2003 and became Executive Vice President and
President, York Casket Division.
The
Company also announced today the creation of an Office of the Chairman. This
office will consist of David M. Kelly as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
Matthews, Mr. DeCarlo as Vice Chairman, and Mr. Bartolacci as President and
Chief Operating Officer. The role of the Office of the Chairman will be to
manage day-to-day operations of the Corporation, to integrate and improve
performance of existing operations, and to plan and lay the groundwork for
further growth of the Corporation.
Matthews
International Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a
designer, manufacturer and marketer principally of memorialization products and
brand solutions. Memorialization products consist primarily of bronze memorials
and memorialization products, caskets and cremation equipment for the cemetery
and funeral home industries. Brand solutions include graphics imaging products
and services, merchandising solutions, and marking products. The Company’s
products and services include cast bronze memorials and other memorialization
products; caskets; cast and etched architectural products; cremation equipment
and cremation-related products; mausoleums; printing plates, pre-press services,
and imaging systems for the corrugated and primary packaging industries; marking
equipment and consumables for identifying various consumer and industrial
products, components and containers; and merchandising display systems and
marketing and design services.
Any
forward-looking statements contained in this release are included pursuant to
the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that may cause the Company’s actual results in future periods to
be materially different from management’s expectations. Although the Company
believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are
reasonable, no assurance can be given that such expectations will prove correct.
Factors that could cause the Company’s results to differ materially from the
results discussed in such forward-looking statements principally include
economic, competitive, and technological factors beyond the Company’s
control.