Press Release

• More than $30 million to be invested in Viracon at Owatonna, MN
• Investment part of strategy to ensure long-term competitiveness of Viracon
• Investment in state-of-the-art coater to enable new products, efficiencies

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2013-- Apogee Enterprises, Inc. (Nasdaq:APOG) today announced that it will be making the previously announced investment of more than $30 million at its Viracon architectural glass facility in Owatonna, MN. The investment in a new coater, which will allow Viracon to continue its leadership in architectural glass products, is part of a strategy to ensure the long-term competitiveness of Viracon.

Apogee decided to install the new coating technology in Minnesota, because the Owatonna facility contains Viracon’s most extensive product capabilities and deepest team of technical talent, and it is centrally located for serving the company’s primary North American market. Support from the city, county and state was also a pivotal factor in the location decision.

“Strengthening the competitive positioning of our leading Viracon brand is key to Apogee’s growth strategies,” said Joseph F. Puishys, Apogee chief executive officer. “The new investment in Viracon-Owatonna, along with an upgrade completed at Viracon-Statesboro, GA during a six-month shutdown in 2012, allow us to enhance Viracon’s product capabilities while improving productivity. We have also recently announced that we will rationalize capacity in the short term since we have adequate capacity to serve the anticipated gradual strengthening of commercial construction markets.”

Earlier this month, it was announced that the Viracon-St. George, UT facility will be temporarily closed for approximately two years, beginning in mid-April 2013, to better align overall Viracon capacity with the demand expected over the next two years, which can be served from Viracon’s two other facilities.

“Viracon is the only North American architectural glass fabricator focused on commercial buildings with its own coating capabilities,” said Kelly Schuller, Viracon president. He explained, “Our coatings are a key underpinning of our competitive differentiation, and the new coater will have many new capabilities and features that will ensure Viracon remains at the forefront of architectural coating technology.”

Schuller said the project is expected to get under way in April 2013, with the site work required to make way for a building addition to house the new coater. It is anticipated that the new coater will begin delivering product for distinctive commercial buildings by late summer 2014.

ABOUT APOGEE ENTERPRISES
Apogee Enterprises, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is a leader in technologies involving the design and development of value-added glass products and services. The company is organized in two segments:

• Architectural products and services companies design, engineer, fabricate, install and renovate the walls of glass and windows comprising the outside skin of commercial and institutional buildings. Businesses in this segment are: Viracon, the leading fabricator of coated, high-performance architectural glass for global markets; Harmon, Inc., one of the largest U.S. full-service building glass installation and renovation companies; Wausau Window and Wall Systems, a manufacturer of custom aluminum window systems and curtainwall; Tubelite, a fabricator of aluminum storefront, entrance and curtainwall products; and Linetec, a paint and anodizing finisher of window frames and PVC shutters.
• Large-scale optical segment consists of Tru Vue, a value-added glass and acrylic manufacturer for the custom picture framing market.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
The discussion above contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect Apogee management’s expectations or beliefs as of the date of this release. The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All forward-looking statements are qualified by factors that may affect the operating results of the company, including the following: operational risks within (A) the architectural segment: i) competitive, price-sensitive and changing market conditions, including unforeseen project delays and cancellations; ii) economic conditions, material cost increases and the cyclical nature of the North American and Latin American commercial construction industries; iii) product performance, reliability, execution or quality problems that could delay payments, increase costs, impact orders or lead to litigation; and iv) the segment’s ability to fully and efficiently utilize production capacity; and (B) the large-scale optical segment: i) markets that are impacted by consumer confidence and trends; ii) dependence on a relatively small number of customers; iii) changing market conditions, including unfavorable shift in product mix and new competition; and iv) ability to fully and efficiently utilize production capacity. Additional factors include: i) revenue and operating results that are volatile; ii) financial market disruption which could impact company, customer and supplier credit availability; iii) self-insurance risk related to a material product liability event and to health insurance programs; iv) cost of compliance with governmental regulations relating to hazardous substances; and v) foreign currency risk related to certain continuing operations. The company cautions investors that actual future results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, and that other factors may in the future prove to be important in affecting the company’s results of operations. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or a combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. For a more detailed explanation of the foregoing and other risks and uncertainties, see Item 1A of the company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 3, 2012.

Source: Apogee Enterprises, Inc.

Apogee Enterprises, Inc.
Mary Ann Jackson, 952-487-7538
Investor Relations
mjackson@apog.com