AEP Industries Completes Sale of Dutch Rigids Operations

Business Wire, June 22, 1998

SOUTH HACKENSACK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 22, 1997--AEP Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq:AEPI) announced today that it has completed the sale of its Rigids Packaging Operations located in Beuningen and Venlo, Holland, to RPC Group PLC for approximately $4 million. These two thermoforming businesses, with 1997 revenues of approximately $16 million, manufacture containers and trays for use in the food market. These businesses were not profitable in 1997.

RPC will combine these businesses with its Bebo Group operations in Germany and Poland, which currently produce similar products, to further penetrate the Northern European market.

Commenting on the sale, Brendan Barba, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AEP, stated, "This is the first step towards achieving our goal of focusing exclusively on our flexible packaging businesses. By disposing of the Rigids Packaging Operations, which were part of the Company's acquisition of Borden Global Packaging, we will be able to concentrate our efforts on AEP's more profitable core businesses both within Europe and worldwide."

AEP Industries Inc. manufactures, markets, and distributes an extensive range of plastic packaging products for the food/beverage, industrial and agricultural markets. The Company has operations in 12 countries throughout North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

Except for historical information contained herein, the statements in this release are forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the Company's actual results in future periods to differ materially from forecasted results. Those risks include, among others, risks associated with pricing, volume, and conditions of markets. Those and other risks are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over the last 12 months, copies of which are available from the SEC or may be obtained upon request from the Company.

    CONTACT: Paul Feeney
              Executive Vice President and
              Chief Financial Officer
              (201) 807-2330
              e-mail: paulf@aepind.com
                     or
              Morgen-Walke Associates
              Investor Contact:
              June Filingeri, John Blackwell
                     or
              Media Contact:
              Stan Froelich
              (212) 850-5600