Butler Manufacturing Company Elects John J. Holland President and Chief Executive Officer; Donald H. Pratt Vice Chairman and Gary M. Christensen Director.

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 19, 1999--John J. Holland, 48, has been elected President and Chief Executive Officer of Butler Manufacturing Company, succeeding Robert H. West, 60, who will remain as Chairman of Butler until his retirement on July 1. Mr. Holland was also elected a director of the company. As part of a previously announced corporate succession plan, Donald H. Pratt, 61, currently Butler's President, has been elected Vice Chairman of the company and will become Chairman upon Mr. West's retirement.

Mr. Holland, who has been Executive Vice President of Butler, has been with the company for 18 years. He has had senior management responsibilities in the metal building systems division, as well as previously serving as the company's Chief Financial Officer.

Mr. Pratt has had a distinguished 33-year career with Butler. He has served as President of the metal building systems division, and for the past several years has had executive operating responsibility for most of Butler's domestic and international businesses.

Separately, Butler announced the election to its Board of Directors of Gary M. Christensen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Pella Corporation. Mr. Christensen has been with Pella since 1990 and had previous senior management responsibilities at General Electric Company and Trane Corporation. Pella, a privately owned company, is one of the world's largest producers of wood windows and doors and is headquartered in Pella, Iowa. Mr. Christensen replaces Harold G. Bernthal, Chairman of CroBern, Inc., who is retiring from Butler's Board of Directors after 20 years of outstanding service.

Butler Manufacturing Company is the world's leading producer of pre-engineered building systems and is a supplier of architectural products and construction services for the nonresidential construction market.

Statements in this press release concerning the company's business outlook or future economic performance; anticipated profitability, revenues, expenses or other financial items, together with other statements that are not historical facts, are "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined under the Federal Securities Laws. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated in such statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, industry cyclicality, fluctuations in customer demand and order pattern, the seasonal nature of the business, changes in pricing or other actions by competitors, and general economic conditions, as well as other risks detailed in the company's 1997 Annual Report to Shareholders on page 17.