FreshAir Fireplace Recognized for Excellence

Consumers Digest and HANDY Magazine award innovative fireplace for its exceptional value and design

4/7/2005 (Minneapolis)

The FreshAir™ Fireplace from Heat & Glo™ and Heatilator® received two elite awards this fall from editors at Consumers Digest and HANDY Magazine. The FreshAir Fireplace combines the beauty of an open hearth gas fireplace with ventilation technology that results in better indoor air quality. It features a “balanced combustion” operation that brings fresh air into a home while exhausting an equal amount of stale air. This innovative process allows the home to breathe and provides a constant supply of healthy, fresh air.

Consumers Digest honored the FreshAir Fireplace with a Best Buy rating in its September/October 2004 issue. On average, a Consumers Digest Best Buy rating is awarded to fewer than three percent of the competing models in any give product category. The editors deemed the FreshAir Fireplace a model where “even homeowners on a budget can build the fireplace of their dreams.”

HANDY Magazine recognized the FreshAir Fireplace as the best in its product category with a 2004 HANDY Innovation Award in its November/December 2004 issue. The award honors the most exemplary innovations in product design and the editorial staff selects only a handful of products to receive the distinction each year. Editors chose the FreshAir Fireplace because of its “excellent example of ingenuity and top notch design.”

“These awards recognize our commitment to developing innovative products like the FreshAir Fireplace that not only enhance home décor, but also provide a healthier home environment,” says Kathy Repp, Heatilator Brand Manager.  “We invest more in research and development than any other company in our industry. And we will continue to bring to market home products that push technological and design boundaries.”

Heatilator® is a brand of Hearth & Home Technologies™, Inc. the world’s largest fireplace manufacturer and a leading provider of hearth systems for the home. Heatilator embraces the traditional role of a fireplace with straightforward and dependable hearth products that make providing security and comfort an affordable reality Other brands in the Hearth & Home Technologies family include Heat & Glo™, Quadra-Fire® and Fireside Hearth & Home®. Hearth & Home Technologies is a subsidiary of HNI Corporation (NYSE: HNI), the second largest office furniture manufacturer in the United States.