Siecor Wins Bell Atlantic Supplier Excellence Award for Second Year in Row

Siecor Wins Bell Atlantic Supplier Excellence
Award
for Second Year in Row

Company Receives High Marks for Product Performance and
On-Time Delivery

August 6, 1999

NEW YORK -- Siecor of Hickory, N.C., has won the Bell
Atlantic Supplier Excellence Award for outstanding customer service for
the second consecutive year. Siecor manufactures fiber-optic cable for
Bell Atlantic's telecommunications network.

Sandy Lyons, president and CEO of the company, will accept the award
on Aug. 9, at 10:30 a.m. at a ceremony at Siecor's headquarters. Ken
Hoffman, Bell Atlantic vice president, Facilities Management, will present
the award.

"Our suppliers play a vital role in Bell Atlantic's mission to care for
our customers, anticipate their needs and provide them with outstanding
service," said Hoffman. "Siecor helps us meet our customer's
requirements by consistently providing us with on-time deliveries of high
quality products. The Supplier Excellence Awards program enables us to
recognize such companies for their hard work and dedication to
excellence."

For the past seven years, Siecor has provided Bell Atlantic with defect-
free, fiber-optic cable, while meeting Bell Atlantic's increasing demands
for more cable and more stringent turnaround requirements. In 1998,
Siecor played a key role in the company's efforts to standardize its fiber-
optic cable and, at the same time, significantly reduced its prices.

"Taking exceptional care of our customers is one of our basic core
values at Siecor, and this award is evidence of our commitment to
customer excellence," said Lyons. "We are honored to accept
this award for the second consecutive year. With customer service second
to none, Siecor is committed to serve our customers with quality products
and services into the 21st century."

In addition to cable, Siecor also provides fiber-optic training seminars at
no additional cost to Bell Atlantic.

Siecor is one of only nine suppliers, out of 6,500 companies, to earn the
Bell Atlantic Supplier Excellence Award. The suppliers were judged on
key performance attributes, including quality, responsiveness, delivery and
customer satisfaction, for the products and services they provided to Bell
Atlantic.

The annual Supplier Excellence Awards program enables Bell Atlantic to
thank the winners publicly for their hard work and dedication to
excellence, which help Bell Atlantic maintain its position as a market
leader. In addition, the award encourages other suppliers to raise their
level of performance.

The other winners of the Bell Atlantic Supplier Excellence Award
are:

• Ameriphone, Inc., Garden Grove, Calif.
• Avanti/Case-Hoyt, Miami, Fl.
• Central Pennsylvania Transportation Inc., Lancaster, Penn.
• Fraser Papers Inc., Stamford, Conn.
• Frequency Marketing, Inc., Milford, Ohio
• Hartling Communications, Inc., Burlington, Mass.
• Moore North America, Inc., Lake Forest, Ill.
• Transportation Displays Inc., New York, N.Y.

Editors note: Reporters interested in attending the awards
celebration should call Sharon Beadle at 212-395-1802.

Siecor, owned equally by Siemens Corporation and Corning Incorporated,
continues to lead the industry in developing and manufacturing optical
fiber and copper communications products for voice, data and video
applications. Formed in 1977, the company is a major supplier for
telephone companies, cable television operating companies, customer
premises communications and utility applications. Siecor is the largest
manufacturer of optical fiber cable in the world and is dedicated to
providing Total Quality products and services to customers.

Bell Atlantic is at the forefront of the
new communications and information industry. With more than 43
million telephone access lines and nearly 10 million wireless customers
worldwide, Bell Atlantic companies are premier providers of advanced
wireline voice and data services, market leaders in wireless services and
the world's largest publishers of directory information. Bell Atlantic
companies are also among the world's largest investors in high-growth
global communications markets, with operations and investments in 23
countries.