MARQUESA PLUSH SHOWCASED BY 27 ADDITIONAL FURNITURE MAKERS AT THE OCTOBER FURNITURE MARKET

Chapel Hill, NC (October 11, 2004) – Fabrics made from Marquesa® Plush, the highly-engineered yarn from American Fibers and Yarns Company (AF&Y), will be introduced by an additional 27 manufacturers at the October Furniture Market in High Point (showroom list). An original group of 45 manufacturers helped launch the yarn at the April Market. Marquesa Plush introduces next-generation technology, combining the aesthetics of premium priced yarns with a moderate price and easy-care properties including durability, stain resistance and cleanability.

Marquesa Plush yarn is currently featured in fabrics manufactured by Culp and Joan Fabrics. Benchcraft, Berkline, Best Home Furnishings, La-Z-Boy, Norwalk, and many other furniture makers helped launch Marquesa Plush in April and have added to their lines. The additional manufacturers introducing Marquesa Plush at the October Market include Alexvale Furniture, Bruard’s, Caye Home, Cleveland Chair, Craftsmaster, Décor Rest, Distinctive Designs, Douglas, Franklin, Friendship Upholstery, Hickory Hill, Jonathan Louis, King Hickory, Nadler Brothers, New Generations, Pembrook Chair, Robinson & Robinson, Schnadig, Southern Textiles, Styleline and others. A complete list of manufacturers will be posted at www.afyarns.com.

“Marquesa technology is not available anywhere else in the world and it is providing our customers with a compelling performance value proposition,” said Michael Apperson, AF&Y CEO. “It is extremely gratifying to see that so many leading furniture makers are recognizing this fact and utilizing Marquesa technology as a competitive advantage.”

Both Joan Fabrics and Culp said the initial market reaction to Marquesa Plush encouraged them to expand their offerings. “Because the performance is inherent to the yarn and not part of a protective coating, our fabrics made from Marquesa technology retain their performance characteristics over time.” Robb Tomlin, vice president of sales and merchandising for Joan Velvets and Home Fabrics said “the performance features resulting from Marquesa technology and their rapid acceptance in the marketplace prompted us to expand our product line. Joan is now offering superb feature and benefit stories not previously available for velvet products.”

“Performance is certainly a key value proposition in the market today but Marquesa technology represents the only inherent performance story,” said Liam Waters, director of design at Culp Decorative Fabrics.

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.