3800 Arco Corporate Drive, Suite 310 Charlotte, NC 28273 phone: (704) 504-6600 fax: (704) 504-6661 www.jacobsen.com

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (February 22, 2007) — Jacobsen®, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, is investing in a new facility to bring together its corporate headquarters, global distribution center for whole goods and parts and state-of-the-art training center. 

Located just four miles from the current manufacturing plant in Charlotte, North Carolina, the new Jacobsen facility was designed with customers' needs in mind.   By April 2007, approximately 150 employees will be relocated to the 185,000 square-foot facility. "Customer satisfaction is our highest priority," said Dan Wilkinson, President of Jacobsen. "Bringing all of our training, customer service and administrative activities under one roof helps us respond more quickly to the turf professionals who buy our equipment." Manufacturing, assembly and engineering employees will continue to work at the Wilmar Boulevard location, which has been a Jacobsen plant for more than 20 years.

Jacobsen's new Charlotte, N.C. headquarters will house offices, Jacobsen University training center and a Global Distribution Center for Whole Goods and Parts. (more photos)

"On January 15, 2007 the move was complete for the parts and whole goods distribution center," said Wilkinson. "We are fully functional and maintaining parts delivery rates above 97 percent as we have for nearly two years."

Introducing Jacobsen University

The new Jacobsen University training center is cutting edge, with the latest in classroom technology, a meeting room, and three labs that will be used to host turf professionals, students, dealers and new employees for sales and technical training. One lab will be reserved to demonstrate efficient reel maintenance and grinding techniques, one for electrical systems training and the other for teaching the ins and outs of hydraulic systems.

Each lab will feature tear down bays where students and visiting professionals will learn how Jacobsen products work and how to keep them running up to factory specifications.

Jacobsen University Opens its Doors

Upon establishing Jacobsen University, the company can now reinstate its Future Turf Manager's program, which offers exclusive training seminars to top students from the country's leading turf colleges. The program gives turf students the opportunity to learn and interact with industry professionals.

The first group of 30 students is scheduled to visit Charlotte in May 2007. Visiting superintendents and dealers also will have a chance to use the training center, classrooms, labs and tour the global distribution center as part of the Charlotte Experience. The Charlotte Experience consists of a two-day tour designed to give prospective business partners and customers a glimpse of Jacobsen's production process through a behind-the-scenes look at the facilities in the company's hometown.

In addition, Jacobsen takes this face-to-face opportunity to gather feedback from customers on existing products as well as and new product development ideas. The Charlotte Experience provides customers with a direct pipeline to leadership, product management and engineering teams that are working to deliver innovative products of the highest quality.

The address for Jacobsen's new headquarters is 11108 Quality Drive, Charlotte, N.C. 28273. For more information, visit  www.jacobsen.com or call 888-922-TURF.