CULP, INC. IS THE FIRST TO PREMIER A COMPLETE LINE OF FABRICS UTLILIZING MARQUESA PLUSH IN CHENILLES.

Press Contact:
John Avant 919-676-4115 (john.avant@avant.com)

Chapel Hill, NC (January 5, 2004) - Culp, Inc., has developed an extensive line of chenille fabrics made from Marquesa Plush, a yarn manufactured exclusively by American Fibers and Yarns (AF&Y). Marquesa Plush has been engineered to impart excellent hand and aesthetic qualities married with outstanding fabric endurance and stain resistance.

Culp plans to premier the chenille fabrics at Showtime in January 2004, for placement in furniture showrooms at the High Point Furniture Market in April 2004.

"Culp immediately recognized the strategic advantage inherent in Marquesa Plush for chenilles," said Liam Waters, chief designer for Culp Residential Fabrics. "Every few years a real story is told in yarns and fabrics, and this year it's the advantage of using Marquesa Plush in chenille fabrics by Culp. We are in an era of so-called performance fabrics, or miracle fabrics. The irony is that most of the so-called performance fabrics are not inherently cleanable. Most of the micro fibers, for instance, attract soil and must be coated with a protective finish to make them cleanable. Marquesa Plush is significantly different. Because the yarn is solution dyed, the color and easy-care qualities are inherent properties of the yarn. They cannot be cleaned off or worn off. The Culp chenille fabrics made with Marquesa Plush offer the true miracle of performance: durable cleanability."

Michael Apperson, AF&Y CEO, noted that fabrics manufactured from Marquesa Plush yarns offer the easy-care properties of durability, stain resistance and cleanability, without sacrificing the softness, color and look of traditional fibers. "Having Culp extend the Marquesa Plush brand into chenilles is an important milestone in our technology development efforts. Culp's innovation is also another validation of our business strategy: to use technology to give our customers a competitive edge.

"There is also a positive environmental aspect to the Marquesa Plush technology," Apperson said. "Since the Marquesa Plush performance characteristics are inherent yarn properties, there is no need for fabrics to be coated with environmentally sensitive chemicals."

About American Fibers and Yarns Company
American Fibers and Yarns Company (AF&Y) is the world's leading supplier of solution dyed filament yarns. With thousands of yarns in its product portfolio and the ability to engineer yarns to customer specifications, AF&Y is a dominant supplier to the residential and contract furnishings marketplace, and has a growing presence in the hospitality, apparel, automotive and industrial markets. Headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC, AF&Y maintains a Technology Center that specializes in engineering filament yarn with innovative combinations not available from other suppliers. The company also operates three U.S. production facilities totaling a million square feet of manufacturing space. For more information on AF&Y and its products, please visit www.afyarns.com or call 800-925-0668.