HAMILTON, Ohio- Sept. 4, 2001--Smart Papers, LLC, the newest and one of the largest independent U.S. manufacturers of premium specialty printing papers, today announced its lineup of senior regional sales executives. The team of five is responsible for North American and worldwide sales. All are highly entrepreneurial and experienced sales veterans charged with driving sales growth of the company's premium coated and uncoated specialty printing and label papers to commercial printers, graphic designers, converters and corporations. "This is an exceptional team of professionals who have a long track record of delivering deep, unexpected value to their customers,'' says Paul Simpson, senior vice president-sales for Smart Papers. The regional sales executives report to Mr. Simpson and oversee an outside sales staff of 13. The newly announced executives are: * Mark Grillo - Southeast. * Joe Lipscomb - West and Western Canada. * Charlie Matthews - Midwest. * Frank Olmeda - Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and the Far East. * Timothy W. Thompson - East and Eastern Canada. Mr. Grillo, responsible for 12 states in the South and Mid-Atlantic regions from his Atlanta office, has more than 20 years of sales leadership experience in the paper and printing industries. Before joining Smart Papers in July, he was regional sales manager for Crane & Co. and Curtis 1000. At Crane, he oversaw the Southwest and Mid-Atlantic regions. Mr. Lipscomb, responsible for 12 states in the West and Western Canada from his San Ramon, CA office, has more than 30 years of sales leadership and management consulting experience in the paper business. He joined Smart in July 2001. Prior to that, he was a senior account executive with Pasadena Paper Co. and a regional manager for Simpson Paper and Nekoosa Papers. Mr. Matthews, responsible for 13 states in the Midwest and Ontario, Canada, from Smart's Hamilton, OH, headquarters, has more than 20 years of senior management and sales experience in the paper manufacturing and distribution industries. He joined Smart Papers' predecessor company, Champion International, in February 1999, in his current position. Before that, he spent three years as general manager and marketing vice president of Queen City Paper in Cincinnati, six years in sales management with Fasson-Avery Dennison. He also spent 10 years in sales in other forest products concerns. Mr. Olmeda, responsible for Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and the Far East from his office in Boca Raton, FL, has extensive experience in sales management with a specialty in Mexico and Latin America. He worked for Champion International for 20 years, most recently as sales manager for 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. For five years, he was a sales and operations executive with Burndy Corp., a Norwalk, CT, electronics manufacturer. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese. Mr. Thompson, responsible for 11 states in the East and Eastern Canada from his Philadelphia office, has more than 25 years of experience in paper manufacturing and distribution sales. He joined Smart Papers' predecessor, Champion International, in 1999 in his current post. Before that, he worked as the Mid-Atlantic sales representative for Fraser Papers and was a manufacturer's rep for paper manufacturing and distribution companies. He has also worked in sales management for Gilbert Paper and in sales for the former Howard Paper Mills.