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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of
the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report August 24, 1998
(Date of earliest event reported)
KIMBALL INTERNATIONAL, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
INDIANA
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
0-3279 35-0514506
(Commission File Number) (IRS Employee Identification Number)
1600 Royal Street, Jasper, Indiana 47549-1001
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (812) 482-1600
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)
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ITEM 5. Other Events
The Registrant issued the following press release on August 24, 1998:
KENTUCKY TIMBERLAND PURCHASE ASSURES FUTURE GROWTH
* * * * *
Trees As Well As Economy Likely To Benefit
JASPER, IN (August 24, 1998) -- Kimball International, Inc. announced today
that it has acquired the largest privately-owned land parcel in the State of
Kentucky, an 18.3-square mile site in Crittenden and Union Counties bordering
the Ohio River.
Known as the Sturgis Property, the 11,700-acre site nearly doubles the
timberland holdings of Kimball, one of the nation's leading furniture
manufacturers, recognized for its long-term, sustainable forestry management
practices. In addition, the newly-acquired property provides excellent sites
for potential expansion of manufacturing facilities. Kimball currently
operates manufacturing facilities in Fordsville, Greensburg and Cloverport,
Kentucky.
The property has been owned by Alcoa, the world's leading producer of aluminum,
for the past fifty years. The site has been managed under a mixed use of cattle
ranching, farming and timber production, due to its diverse topography of level
fields and rolling, wooded hills.
"The sale of such a massive tract of land is noteworthy," stated Gerald C.
Finn, President and COO of New America International (NAI), the global real
estate partnership retained by the Pittsburgh-based Alcoa to broker the sale.
According to Willard Wells, Senior Corporate Real Estate Specialist at Alcoa,
the company retained NAI and its investment sales affiliate, Terra Marketing,
to sell the Sturgis Property because of their ability to access buyers on a
national and international basis.
Kimball International was particularly interested in the Sturgis property
because of the quality of the native hardwood timber resources, which have been
well managed by Alcoa over the past ten years. Currently, Kimball owns over 70
forests, located mainly in Indiana and Kentucky. Prior to this purchase, these
forests totaled nearly 15,000 acres.
Kimball's reputation for environmental sensitivity and responsible forest
management practices are already well known in Kentucky. Working with the
Kentucky Departments of Natural Resources, Fish and Wildlife and the Nature
Preserves Commission, along with the Kentucky chapter of The Nature
Conservancy, Kimball has set aside portions of its 3,000-acre forest tract
known as the Lapland Barrens for the study and preservation of native Prairie
grasses once thought extinct.
"At Kimball, we take a very long-term view to forest management," explained Ron
Thyen, Senior Executive Vice- President of Operations. "We're planting and
cultivating trees which require sixty to eighty years to mature. We won't live
to see the fruits of our labor, perhaps neither will our children. It will be
our grandchildren who will see the benefits."
Sustainable forestry practices at Kimball consider the entire "living forest"
with an aim to preserve biodiversity. This approach looks at ecological, social
and economic factors to insure a balance between environmental concerns and
economic realities. Kimball has never condoned "clear-cutting", and instead
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practices "selective" harvesting, in which only a few mature trees are removed,
allowing the remaining natural forest to thrive.
Added Mike Brinson, Forester for Kimball, "Research, time and experience has
shown that forests can be professionally managed to maintain their integrity
and provide a mix of benefits: timber, clean water, fish and wildlife habitat,
outdoor recreation and natural beauty. That's where we come in..."
Foresters from Kimball Land Management Services offer forest management
services to private landowners, and will conduct inspections and make
recommendations for improvements. For selected properties, Kimball also offers a
Forest Management Agreement in which Kimball assumes responsibility for the
management of the landowner's forest land, providing the same high standards
used on Kimball's own properties. Training in safe harvesting techniques is also
frequently offered to private landowners, conducted by Kimball staff along with
other forestry and government professionals.
"We feel that it's important for the citizens of the Commonwealth to know that
we are excellent stewards of our environment", noted Thyen. "This applies not
only to how we manage our forests, but also to how we manage our manufacturing
operations. We foster a stewardship philosophy in pollution prevention, waste
reduction and recycling efforts."
Asked about the possibility of the company expanding its manufacturing
operations in Kentucky, Kimball CEO Doug Habig replied, " As a
southern-Indiana-based company, most of our wood product manufacturing
facilities have been located within the southern Indiana and western Kentucky
area. Our future expansion plans will be based on issues of plant capacity,
logistics and workforce availability. Given our diversified products and
markets, this may mean different solutions for each." Added Habig, "However,
the Sturgis property provides us with some excellent new options within
proximity of many of our core operations."
To learn more about Kimball International, Inc., visit our web site on the
Internet at www.kimball.com.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,
the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf
by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
Kimball International, Inc.
By: Robert F. Schneider
ROBERT F. SCHNEIDER
Executive Vice President,
Chief Financial Officer,
Assistant Treasurer
Date: August 24, 1998
