AMERICAN FIBERS & YARNS MARQUESA® PLUSH ADOPTED BY JOAN VELVETS

Innovative Fiber Provides Aesthetics, Performance and Durability—Showcased at April 2003 Furniture Market

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., April 03, 2003—American Fibers and Yarns Company (AF&Y), today announces the adoption of Marquesa® Plush by Joan Velvets, a leading velvet fabric manufacturer based in Hickory, N.C. Several of Joan Velvets’ motion and commercial furniture manufacturing customers have placed patterns on frames for this year’s April 2003 International Furnishings Market® (Furniture Market) in High Point, N.C. to take place April 3rd-9th. These manufacturers include: Benchcraft, Berkline, Catnapper, England, Klaussner, La-Z-Boy, Lane/Action, Peoplelounger, and Stylecraft.

This first placement of our new Marquesa® Plush yarn with Joan Velvets is extremely exciting for AF&Y,” states Michael Apperson, CEO for AF&Y. “The Marquesa® Plush yarn matched Joan Velvet’s requested specifications for unrivaled softness, aesthetics, color and design for this new yarn made for the residential furnishings market segment. The market acceptance of our new yarn is rewarding and we look forward to the over-all response by retailers to these furniture pieces covered in MarquesaÒ Plush fabric.”

Joan Velvets chose AF&Y’s Marquesa® Plush yarn for this new line of velvets because of two important features: look and feel. “We’ve always known about the excellent performance and durability properties of olefins,” states Robb Tomlin, vice president of Merchandising for Joan Velvets. “Now to find it with acrylic-like aesthetics is such an added bonus. This fiber will give us opportunities to compete at any level of the home furnishings marketplace.”

Marquesa® Plush yarns were engineered by AF&Y to combine the aesthetics of premium priced acrylic yarns with the cost benefits and performance of traditional olefins. Consumers can now choose high styled aesthetically pleasing fabrics with the desirable easy care properties of durability, stain resistance and cleanability. “Cleanability is key and will be a real issue discussed at this years April Furniture Market,” states Tomlin. “Joan Velvets and AF&Y have joined forces to tell a great story. Marquesa® Plush is very easy to clean and resists staining.”

Joan Velvets reports that almost all of their major motion and commercial furniture manufacturing customers have bought new patterns made with the Marquesa® Plush fabrics for their April Furniture Market presentations. “We were pleasantly surprised at the positive market acceptance of this new product,” reports Tomlin. “It is clear that manufacturers are looking for something fresh and new to talk about and sell through to their customers. We’re delighted to be the exclusive velvet resource to bring this great new yarn story to market in our new fabrics.”

Joan Velvets’ customers that have adopted the Marquesa® Plush fabrics include: Benchcraft, Berkline, Catnapper, England, Klaussner, La-Z-Boy, Lane/Action, Peoplelounger, and Stylecraft. All of these manufacturers will feature furniture covered with Joan Velvets’ Marquesa® Plush fabrics in their showrooms at the April High Point Furniture Market. Please visit these showrooms to see these exciting new introductions. For more information about American Fibers and Yarns Co. and the Marquesa® Luxury Family of Products, please visit www.afyarns.com or call (864) 235-5651.

About American Fibers and Yarns Company
Headquartered in Chapel Hill, N.C., American Fibers and Yarns Company (AF&Y) is a premier supplier of synthetic filament yarn specializing in polypropylene and polyolefin fibers. Using the latest polymer technologies, AF&Y engineers filament yarn with hi-tech combinations not previously offered to the industry. As the largest U.S. supplier of filament polypropylene yarn, AF&Y’s product portfolio is dominant in both the residential and the contract furnishings marketplace. In addition, AF&Y’s varied product line spans industries, which include: hospitality, apparel, automotive, and industrial markets, just to name a few. For more information on AF&Y, please visit www.afyarns.com or call (864) 235-5651.

About Joan Fabrics Corporation
Joan Fabrics Corporation, one of the largest privately held corporations in New England, is headquartered in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts. Joan Fabrics various manufacturing arms make it the largest domestic producer of home furnishing fabrics in the United States. With facilities located in Lowell, Mass., Hickory, N.C. and Troy, Mich., Joan Fabrics is an ISO-certified manufacturer with a commitment to quality measured in delivering superior products to each and every customer. For more information about Joan Fabrics, please visit www.joanfabrics.com or call (978) 649-JOA