OUTL Outlook (MM)

Outlook Group Corp. (Nasdaq:OUTL) today announced an agreement with Aviso Packaging LLC of Ossian, Indiana. The equipment and services provided under the agreement, combined with Outlook Group's flexible packaging capabilities, will bring new packaging technology to the cheese industry. The new technology is designed for the packaging of natural cheese for the retail and food service markets. "The packaging technology for natural cheese products has not changed significantly in over 30 years. The new technology we are introducing enables cheese producers to wrap their cheese in film that is thinner, tougher and less expensive than the film currently being utilized. Outlook will provide a packaging system that includes both the technology and printed and laminated films," said Joseph J. Baksha, president and chief executive officer of Outlook Group. "This ground-breaking technology was developed specifically for the most prevalent equipment in the cheese industry. Our agreement with Aviso Packaging enables us to enter the cheese market, a large segment of the food industry, as well as other segments using similar technology. We believe our relationships with new cheese customers should also provide cross-selling opportunities in other areas of our business such as printed labels. This agreement is a major step in expanding our successful supply chain management capabilities into a new market," said Baksha. Keith Flesch, co-owner of Aviso Packaging said, "My partner, John Cadwallader, and I have worked in the cheese industry for many years. We saw first-hand the need for a more efficient and cost effective type of film to be used in the packaging of natural cheese. We developed the technology to enable cheese producers to benefit from the added strength, longer shelf-life and lower cost of co-extruded film. We believe this new technology will be a welcome development for the cheese industry." Baksha added, "The Aviso device has already been running well at a national cheese producer and we expect that production of the new equipment will begin in a few weeks. We hope that the demand for this new technology will ultimately be high, however, in the initial phase of production, the supply will be quite low. As a result, we will sell the new technology on a first-come, first-served basis." "New product development is an integral part of our supply chain initiative and a key component of the value proposition we bring to our clients. In today's environment of pricing auctions and bids, developing new technology helps our clients to realistically reduce total landed costs in a sustainable fashion and further differentiate Outlook Group in the marketplace," added Baksha. Outlook Group Corp. is a printing, packaging and direct marketing company offering a variety of related services to clients in markets including contract packaging, collateral information management and distribution, direct marketing components and services, packaging components and materials and specialty print related services. The company leverages its core competencies by cross-selling services to provide a single-source solution for its clients. The discussions of potential future occurrences and operations, and other statements in the future tense or using terms such as "believe," "expect," or "anticipate," in this press release are "forward-looking statements" intended to qualify for the safe harbor from liability established by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. In particular, we cannot assure market acceptance or success of the new technology or machinery or any level of sales of machines or film or cross-sales. The machinery may also be subject to latent technological or production problems. Outlook's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission discuss a number of other factors which may affect Outlook's future operations, including: possible changes in customer relationships; financing needs to support our relationships; possible termination of contracts, including long-term contracts; the need to complete the transitions to the new customer contracts, and the need to achieve and maintain satisfactory performance thereunder; potential inability to achieve expected cost savings or delays in their achievement; changes in project mix and timing; the effects of industry competition, overcapacity and acquisition activity; slowdowns in general market and economic conditions, and changes in other world and national conditions; and the possible need for future capital investments or equipment enhancements, and related financing. Readers are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements.