Oglebay Norton has put in place a voluntary early retirement program for eligible employees and is consolidating its Ohio-based industrial sands operations in 2001.

Oglebay Norton Co. recently announced that it has put in place a voluntary early retirement program for eligible employees and that it is consolidating its Ohio-based industrial sands operations in 2001 in order to improve operating efficiencies and profitability. The company expects that as a result of these actions it will report a nonrecurring charge in the first quarter of 2001 of approximately $0.60 per diluted share.

John Lauer, Oglebay Norton chairman, president and chief executive officer, said, "The ongoing savings from these actions will improve both our costs and our cash position over the balance of this year, however the actual net impact of these actions will not be known until the third quarter. In addition, we have established several task forces, comprised of cross-functional and enterprise-wide senior managers, to execute productivity measures to further reduce costs and improve margins. We project an approximate 5% improvement in EBITDA for 2001 as a direct result of these efforts."

For additional information, visit http://www.oglebaynorton.com.