Denny Slagle letter to Morning Call on restructuring issues to be published Friday (08-21-08) In response to published reaction in the Lehigh Valley following the announcement of the restructuring of Mack, Denny Slagle has written a letter to the editor of the Morning Call offering a clarification of issues regarding the company’s decision. It is anticipated that the letter will be published in Friday’s editions. ----------------------------------------------------- TO THE EDITOR: There are two points I’d like to clarify for the community after reviewing the reaction to Mack’s restructuring announcement. First, we are very much aware of the types of support available in Pennsylvania for business retention, and we have no doubt that officials at every level would have been as helpful as possible in this regard. The Lehigh Valley’s local, state and federal government officials have consistently been excellent partners to Mack, and very proactive in offering their support over the years. However, it’s important to understand that Mack’s headquarters and support functions are not moving to a “greenfield" site developed as an alternative to Allentown. They are moving where almost all of the leadership and about 2,000 employees of these functions are already located. Given the many organizational, financial and operational factors involved in this decision, it was clear that the support we knew we could count on from Pennsylvania could not have tipped the scales. It therefore would have been inappropriate to seek such support. Second, given the $20 million investment and 200 new manufacturing jobs we’re bringing to our Macungie plant; the conversion of our Allentown Test Center into a new Customer Reception/Demonstration Center that will house at least 200 people and host customers and dealers from around the world; the fact that when our restructuring is complete we will still employ at least 900 people in the Lehigh Valley; and the fact that we intend to offer every affected employee a relocation opportunity, I believe we have done everything possible to mitigate the negative impacts of this difficult but necessary change on our employees and the community. While I understand what it means for Allentown to lose Mack’s administrative headquarters, I think it’s important for the community to know that every Mack truck built in North America will soon be manufactured in Macungie, that Mack will remain one of the largest private employers in the Lehigh Valley, and that we will continue to be the good corporate citizen we have been for more than 100 years. Dennis R. Slagle President & CEO Mack Trucks, Inc.