ABM Janitorial Services Awarded Contract With Baltimore City Public Schools.

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 2003

ABM Janitorial Services, a wholly-owned subsidiary of ABM Industries Incorporated (NYSE:ABM), has been awarded a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract with the Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) in Maryland. ABM will provide comprehensive janitorial services at 18 elementary, junior and high school sites in the System totaling more than 2.45 million square feet of space.

"ABM is very pleased to be working with Baltimore's oldest and largest public school system to provide clean facilities for students and teachers," said Jim McClure, president for ABM Janitorial Services. "Providing a pleasant and sanitary educational environment at each school will definitely enhance the learning experience," he added.

"The Baltimore City Public School System has been converting their custodial contracts from task-frequency specifications to a performance-based requirement, and ABM has been instrumental in improving the overall appearance of the schools under this standard. ABM is to be commended for their ability to adapt and succeed in providing custodial services that not only address the performance requirements, but respond to the robust demands of a public urban school system," reported Mark Katz, president of The M David Katz Company. Mr. Katz's firm provided the framework for the performance-based approach now used system-wide within the BCPSS.

Founded in 1829, Baltimore City Public School System is one of the oldest school systems in the country and focuses on student achievement, as well as constructive professional development for teachers and administrators to benefit students and their learning opportunities. The long-term strategic plan includes greater student achievement and more efficient management in support of quality education. With just over 180 elementary, middle and high schools in the system, BCPSS has met 21st century challenges with various significant initiatives, most noteworthy being the comprehensive high school reform program which will invest over $20 million as part of a five year reform effort, transforming nine large Baltimore City neighborhood high schools into smaller learning communities. The first of these was the split of Northern High School, with two high schools occupying the former facility. Both of these schools are now serviced by ABM, and the improvement in the learning environment at these facilities is immediately apparent.

ABM Janitorial Services operates more than 200 branch offices nationwide, serving 38 states and 36 of the 40 largest major metropolitan areas across the country.

ABM Industries Incorporated is one of the largest facility services contractors listed on the New York Stock Exchange. With annualized revenues in excess of $2.1 billion and more than 62,000 employees, ABM provides janitorial, parking, engineering, security, lighting, elevator, mechanical and network services for thousands of commercial, industrial, institutional and retail facilities in hundreds of cities across North America. In addition to ABM Janitorial, the ABM Family of Services includes Ampco System Parking, ABM Engineering, American Commercial Security (ACSS), Amtech Lighting, Amtech Elevator, CommAir Mechanical and ABM Service Network.