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Trois-Rivières, February 28, 2000 — GL&V Pulp and Paper Group announces the closing of the acquisition of Beloit's pulping and finishing business units. The American subsidiary of Harnischfeger International Inc., Beloit is a leading manufacturer of paper-making equipment and enjoys a reputation for excellence around the world. Harnischfeger International Inc. and Beloit filed a petition in bankruptcy (Chapter 11) in June 1999. The acquisition of Beloit's two business units in Massachusetts and New Hampshire was realized at a cost of $30 million and contributes an additional $170 million annually to GL&V's revenues.

This transaction makes GL&V a world-class leader in the design and manufacture of equipment for the pulp and paper industry. «We are better positioned than ever, since our latest acquisitions have contributed to substantially increasing our platform of proven technologies and network, which now extends into more than 40 countries. The combination of these assets offers strong growth potential for all our business units targeted to the pulp and paper industry and other industrial markets,» indicated Laurent Verreault, President and Chief Executive Officer of GL&V.

Annual revenues of $450 million
«With the acquisition of Beloit's two business units, we have just seized an ideal opportunity that gives us high-quality assets as well as complementary product lines and expertise. It also considerably increases our revenues from spare parts: these now account for 33% of our revenues, or about $150 million as at March 31, 2001, compared with just 5% five years ago. We offer paper manufacturers an almost complete range of equipment and technological solutions needed for pulping. We foresee important synergies, which should be reflected in our profit margins in the coming fiscal year. With the contribution of this acquisition for a full fiscal year, we expect to post sales of $450 million as at March 31, 2001. Our objective of $500 million in revenues should therefore be achieved in 2002, especially since the pulp and paper industry is currently in full recovery, which should stimulate a renewal in capital spending,» added Laurent Verreault, President and Chief Executive Officer of GL&V.

Integration plan
The acquisition of Beloit's business units results in the creation of two subsidiaries: GL&V/IMPCO-Jones and GL&V/BELOIT-Lenox, specializing respectively in pulping and finishing equipment.

GL&V's integration plan consists primarily in eliminating duplicate functions and reorganizing manufacturing operations and the sales network to achieve target efficiency levels by the end of the next fiscal year. Some of Beloit's manufacturing operations will be integrated into GL&V, and others will be outsourced to specialized companies. The sales network will be reorganized to optimize GL&V's own international sales force. For the integration period, management has also decided to maintain solely those R&D activities that are focused on improving its proprietary technologies.

More than 80% of sales outside Canada
With this acquisition, GL&V now records 80% of its revenues outside Canada. Sales are split between Canada (20%), the United States (58%), Europe (15%), Asia (4%), and Australia, Africa and other countries (3%).

Profile
Founded in 1975, GL&V is a world leader in the design and manufacture of engineered proprietary equipment for the pulp and paper industry and other industrial markets, mostly chemical products, mining, metallurgy, energy and the environment. The Company holds the proprietary rights to most of the equipment used in its customized technological solutions. Its equipment is manufactured mainly in its plants in North America and Europe as well as by a network of subcontractor partners. GL&V's sales network extends over more than 40 countries on all five continents. The Company has operating centres and/or sales representatives in Canada, the United States, six European countries, Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America, as well as sales agents in most industrialized regions. GL&V employs close to 1,500 people worldwide.

For information:
Laurent Verreault, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer
GL&V - Tel.: (770) 963-2100
Pierre Lépine, Vice-President, Corporate Development
GL&V - Tel.: (514) 284-2224
www.glv.com