Cohoes, NY - September 16, 2008 -- Mohawk Fine Papers Inc. has been granted the status of Women-Owned Business Enterprise by the New York State Department of Economic Development, Division of Minority and Women's Business Development.

Mrs. Frances O'Connor Hardart and Mrs. Annabel O'Connor Strife have each held positions on Mohawk's Board of Directors since 1974, and each are currently majority shareholders. As Board members, both play pivotal roles in the decision-making and guidance of the family-owned company.

"Mohawk is now recognized as the only women-owned manufacturer of commercial printing papers and one of the last privately held paper manufacturers in the world," said Jack Haren, President and CFO, Mohawk Fine Papers Inc.

In addition to her duties as a Mohawk Board member and corporate officer, Mrs. Frances O'Connor Hardart also currently serves on the Bronxville School Board, Bronxville, NY; Thomas Aquinas College Board of Governors, Santa Paula, CA; and the Holy Family Hospital Foundation's Board, Washington, DC. She has a BA from Manhattanville College and conducted her graduate studies in art history at the University of Firenze in Italy.

As well as serving on Mohawk's Board and acting as a corporate officer, Mrs. Annabel O'Connor Strife worked at Sloan Kettering Institute in New York until 2002. There she conducted medical research, became an authority on chronic myelogenous leukemia, and co-authored 56 published medical articles. She has a BA from Manhattanville College and conducted her graduate studies at Cornell University.

The Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) state certification program is designed to assist the growth and development of businesses owned and controlled by women and minorities. Its mission is to encourage and assist state agencies in their efforts to increase participation by minority and women-owned business enterprises on state contracts so as to facilitate the award of a fair share of such contracts to MWBEs. Certified companies are listed in the Directory of Certified Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises which is used by state agencies, the federal government, and major corporations. View the Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprise Directory.

For more information, visit www.mohawkpaper.com or call 1-800 the mill.