Dixie's Atmore and Saraland carpet and rug manufacturing and distribution facilities suffered only minor damage do to the hurricane, said Daniel K. Frierson, company chairman and CEO. "The disruption of operations and the lack of power have been the biggest issues," he added. "Fortunately, power has been restored, and we have resumed operations.

"While we know that some of our associates had significant damage to their homes, we are not aware of an injury to any of our associates. We are very proud of our people who went the extra mile to lessen any impact of this disruption on our customers," Frierson continued.

"Our sales and order entry have been exceptionally strong during the third quarter 2004, with year-over-year sales comparisons up over 30% through the week prior to the hurricane," he said. "The suspension of operations last week caused shipments to be delayed. In spite of the disruption, we anticipate sales for the third quarter to be about 25 percent higher than year-ago levels."