Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Opens Global Innovation Center on Goose Island

CHICAGO, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Affirming the Wrigley Company's ongoing commitment to long-term growth and strategic innovation, Bill Wrigley, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, marked the official opening of the Company's Global Innovation Center on Chicago's Goose Island today.

The world-class facility, located on the northern tip of Chicago's Goose Island, will serve as the nerve center of the global confectioner's commitment to innovate, diversify and meet the needs of future generations of consumers.

"Our global consumers have come to expect quality, value, innovative benefits, and fun from Wrigley products. With state-of-the-art technology and resources, our new Global Innovation Center enables our people to drive innovation at Wrigley to an even higher level," said Wrigley.

The 153,000 square-foot main building houses flexible laboratory and office space to maximize collaboration and the ability to support new projects and equipment as needed; immediately adjacent to the east is a 40,000 square- foot pilot plant. Wrigley estimated total investment in the facility at $45 million to date.

"As a company, we have established a track record of innovation as a key driver of our success," Wrigley said. "For us, it's not just about how many new products we launch - it's about delivering products and solutions that truly add value, create excitement in the marketplace, and have long-term sustainability."

Over the past four years, the contribution from new products has averaged nearly 20% of Wrigley's global sales, up significantly from the 5-6% rate of the late 1990's. As a result of this activity and other strategic business moves, the Company's sales growth has averaged 12% since 1999, more than double the rate of the previous five-year period.

Continuing Commitment to Chicago

At today's ribbon-cutting ceremony, Bill Wrigley, Jr. referenced the Company's deep roots in Chicago, where it was founded in 1891. He cited the pioneering aspect of the Wrigley Building that his great-grandfather began constructing in 1920 as the Michigan Avenue bridge was being built. As the first office tower north of the river, it helped spark the conversion of a former warehouse district into a busy boulevard and served as an initial anchor for what was to become the Magnificent Mile. He also noted with pride the Company's role in the development of Millennium Park, with Wrigley Square as a key element of that new and remarkable city space. He sees the Global Innovation Center as a continuation of the company's strong commitment to the city: "We're delighted to be an important part of the renewal of Goose Island, the continued development of our city and Chicago's attractiveness as a place to invest and do business."

Alderman Ted Matlak of Chicago's 32nd Ward, which includes the Global Innovation Center, offered remarks reinforcing the value of public-private cooperation in such development efforts. Bill Wrigley, Jr. expressed his appreciation to City of Chicago and State of Illinois officials for the support they have provided throughout the planning and construction process, noting that local government had demonstrated a real commitment to partnering with business to create growth and jobs for the community. The result of this cooperative effort and vision was the transformation of a deserted industrial site into a beautiful, state-of-the-art center for design and technology.

Also highlighted at today's ceremony were the many contributors to the successful design and construction of the Global Innovation Center, including the Hellmuth Obata and Kassabaum (HOK) architectural team, Rise Group Project Managers and Power Construction. Singled out for special mention were the Wrigley associates who managed the initiative with talent, enthusiasm and energy - in particular Dr. Surinder Kumar, who joined the Wrigley Company in 2001 as its first-ever Chief Innovation Officer.

Form and Function Come Together

Wrigley also noted the unique design of the building will transform the way Wrigley delivers innovations to its customers and consumers.

"It puts the right people and the right resources together under one roof, and gives them the ability to reach out - instantaneously and seamlessly - to colleagues and advisors around the globe," Wrigley said. "The overall layout facilitates communication and sharing among R&D, innovation and other related teams, and the highly flexible working space provides the freedom and encouragement to try new things and to work together in new ways."

In addition to the flexible office and laboratory space, some of the special architectural and work elements of the new facility include:

  -- a glass tension-cabled ceiling over the center of the building that is
     the only one of its kind in North America, allowing for more light to
     fill workspaces and to support indoor plant growth;

  -- a Winter Garden, featuring plant beds representing four different
     regions of the world - Asia, Africa, Europe and South America -
     providing a unique indoor green space that will offer a pleasant
     respite during the cold, grey days of Chicago's winter; and

  -- wireless technology and unique collaboration and meeting spaces
     allowing associates to work from any office, laboratory or even the
     Winter Garden.

The pilot plant that occupies the east side of the complex will help the Company scale up from lab-size batches to commercial production of new products. The current equipment is being augmented by additional types of machinery from the R&D facility that was part of the Wrigley Company's acquisition of the Altoids(R), Life Savers(R), Creme Savers(R) and Sugus(R) brands earlier this summer. Wrigley is looking for the pilot plant to help expedite the testing of new products and the refinement of new formulas, leading to even faster commercialization of cutting-edge confectionery products.

While the building is not open to the general public, consumers will be invited to the GIC's new sensory testing area, where they will be asked to share their opinions with the Company's product developers and marketers to help them test new confectionery offerings.

The Wrigley Company is a recognized leader in the confectionery field and the world's largest manufacturer and marketer of chewing gum, with global sales of more than $4.0 billion. The Company markets its world-famous brands in more than 180 countries. Three of these brands - Wrigley's Spearmint(R), Juicy Fruit(R), and Altoids(R) - have heritages stretching back more than a century. Other brands include Doublemint(R), Life Savers(R), Big Red(R), Boomer(R), Pim Pom(R), Winterfresh(R), Extra(R), Freedent(R), Hubba Bubba(R), Orbit(R), Excel(R), Creme Savers(R), Eclipse(R), Airwaves(R), Alpine(R), Solano(R), Sugus(R), Cool Air(R), and P.K. (R).

We may from time-to-time, in this document or documents incorporated by reference into this document, discuss our expectations regarding future events. Statements and financial disclosure contained herein and in the documents incorporated by reference herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements with the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements or disclosures may discuss goals, intentions and expectations as to future trends, plans, events, results of operations or financial conditions, or state other information relating to us, based on current beliefs of management as well as assumptions made by, and information currently available to, us. Forward-looking statements generally will be accompanied by words such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "forecast", "intend", "may", "possible", "potential", "predict", "project" or other similar words, phrases or expressions. Although we believe these forward-looking statements are reasonable, they are based upon a number of assumptions concerning future conditions, any or all of which may ultimately prove to be inaccurate. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary. Some of the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially form the forward-looking statements are set forth in Exhibit 99(i) to the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004, such list not being all inclusive, and are incorporated herein by reference.