Andrew S. Patti appointed president and chief operating officer The Dial Corp.

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 17, 1995--John W. Teets, chairman, president and chief executive officer, The Dial Corp (NYSE:DL), announces the appointment of Andrew S. Patti, 55, as president and chief operating officer of The Dial Corp, a leading consumer products and services company with annual revenues of more than $3.5 billion. The appointment is effective immediately.

Patti will also become a member of Dial's board of directors. Teets will continue as chairman and chief executive officer of the corporation.

"I am very pleased to announce this key appointment," said Teets. "Andy's broad experience and knowledge of company operations will strengthen our top management team as we pursue an aggressive program of growth and expansion in our core areas of business -- consumer products and services."

Since 1986, Patti, a 28-year veteran of the company, has been president and chief operating officer of Dial's Consumer Products Group, a $1.5 billion subsidiary with 3,600 employees and 13 manufacturing plants. Dial manufactures and sells more than 150 consumer products under such well-known brand names as Dial, Tone, Purex, Renuzit, Breck, Brillo, Twenty Mule Team Borax and Armour Star.

During Patti's tenure, the Consumer Products Group achieved 33 quarters of increased earnings. Revenues increased from $951 million in 1986 to $1.5 billion in 1995, and operating income increased from $65 million in 1986 to $174 million in 1995.

Patti joined the company as an engineer in 1967 when it was known as Armour Grocery Products. In 1972, he became packaging and finished goods manager of the company's Fort Madison, Iowa, food plant.

In 1976, he joined the personal care division, becoming plant manager of Armour-Dial's soap manufacturing plant in Aurora, Ill. In 1978, he was named senior vice president-operations for Armour-Dial, a position he held until his 1986 appointment as president and COO.

In his new position, Patti will continue as president and COO of the Consumer Products Group and will oversee management of Dial's other operating companies, including Dobbs International Services Inc.; Travelers Express Company Inc.; GES Exposition Services; Exhibitgroup; Premier Cruise Lines and Restaura. Headquartered in Phoenix, Dial employs 33,500 people worldwide.

Patti is a member of the national boards of directors of the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association, and the Soap and Detergent Association.

Born in Phillipsburg, N.J., he is a 1961 graduate of Rutgers University where he earned a B.S. degree in industrial engineering. Subsequently, he received an MBA at Northern Illinois University in 1971.

Patti and his wife, Rita, reside in Phoenix.

CONTACT: The Dial Corp, Phoenix

William H. Peltier, 602/207-5812