SOMERVILLE, MA— January 24, 2005— Ames Safety Envelope Company announced today the appointment of Kirk Ramsauer as president and chief executive officer, effective January 21, 2005.  Ramsauer has served on the board of directors for Ames for more than 10 years and was named chairman of the board in April 2003.  Ramsauer is the 6th president of Ames Safety Envelope Company, a family owned and operated company founded in 1919.  In his newly appointed roll, Ramsauer will oversee the company’s four operating divisions:  Ames On-Demand, Ames Color-File, Ames Specialty Packaging, and ASE Dealer Source. Prior to joining Ames as president and CEO, Ramsauer was deputy general counsel at National Grid USA, where he led the organization’s corporate and transactional practice including corporate, commercial, finance, and new business practice areas.  Ramsauer served as corporate secretary of many National Grid USA subsidiaries and was a director of Maine Yankee Atomic Power Company.  A resident of Wellesley, MA, Ramsauer is a member of the American Bar Association, the Massachusetts Bar Association, and the Boston Bar Association.  He graduated from Harvard Law School and received a bachelor’s degree in economics, cum laude, from Lafayette College, where he won the Economics and Business Prize as the top graduate in the field.  Ramsauer began his career as first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and graduated with distinction from the U.S. Military Police Officers School.