ASD Amer Standard CO

American Standard Contest Lets Plumbers Compete for Top Billing as Heroic Comic Book Character PISCATAWAY, N.J., Sept. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Plumbers are real- life superheroes who come to homeowners' rescue every day to solve plumbing and toilet troubles. That's why American Standard, manufacturer of the new virtually clog-free Champion(R) 4 toilet, is proud to celebrate plumbers, who protect the health of the nation. American Standard is inviting plumbers to share their heroic on-the-job stories for a chance to star as the superhero in a specially designed comic book that tells how they fixed a homeowner's toilet woes. The winner will also receive four Champion 4 toilets, which boast the industry's largest flush valve and trapway. American Standard's Plumber Superhero Contest, which runs through Dec. 15, 2007, is open to all professional plumbers in the United States. "Plumbers are unsung heroes for the work they do everyday," says Jeannette Long, director of marketing communications, American Standard. "American Standard wanted to show its appreciation with a superhero tribute that thanks plumbers who come to our rescue. The contest is a fun way to let plumbers tell their stories - and get an opportunity to be a superhero in their own comic book." Besides the grand prize winner, two runners-up will each receive one free Champion 4 toilet. Other top stories will be featured on the Plumber Protects Web site, http://www.plumberprotects.com/, an online resource for plumbers to learn about ideas to grow their businesses and sales of American Standard products. The contest was inspired by American Standard's just-released plumber superhero comic book, which is available online at http://www.plumberprotects.com/. The free, eight-page comic book tells how a plumber responded to an emergency call and became a superhero by replacing a family's old toilet. The grand prize winner will be featured in a similar comic book, scheduled for release in 2008. In addition, American Standard is offering a six-inch "mega plumber" action figure designed for plumbers to display in their offices or trucks. The action figure will be available later this summer for purchase online at http://www.plumberprotects.com/ for $10 plus shipping and handling. How to Enter: E-mail or Mail by Dec. 15, 2007 It's easy to enter American Standard's Plumber Superhero Contest. Plumbers should submit a 100- to 200-word description of how they came to the rescue to solve a homeowner's plumbing troubles with their greatest weapon - a Champion 4 or other American Standard toilet. The description should tell about the problem, solution and results, as well as what superhero name they would select for themselves. Plumbers can enter online at http://www.plumberprotects.com/, or they can mail their entry with the following information: name, address, daytime phone number, their selected superhero name and the 100- to 200-word description. Entries must be postmarked by Dec. 15, 2007, and sent to: American Standard's Plumber Superhero Contest c/o Carmichael Lynch Spong 110 North Fifth Street Minneapolis, MN 55403 American Standard Champion 4 Toilet: A Superhero's Ultimate Weapon As part of the contest, plumbers can share information about their arsenal of weapons to combat top toilet troubles, including clogs, leaks, dirty bowls and constant running. American Standard sells plumbers hard-working toilets, including the next-generation Champion 4 flushing system. The new toilet laps the competition . and American Standard's own previous breakthrough . with the widest waterways in the industry, virtually eliminating clogging, noisy flushes and the dreaded overflow. Featuring a four-inch Accelerator Flush Valve(TM), it creates incredible water power by pushing water into the bowl three times faster than the standard two-inch flush valve and one-third faster than a three-and-one-quarter-inch flush valve. Its wide-open, fully glazed trapway can move almost 70 percent more mass than a standard two-inch trapway. American Standard also offers Cadet(R) 3 toilets featuring a permanent, antimicrobial EverClean(TM) surface that helps them stay cleaner longer. The company's FloWise(R) toilet was the first to reduce water usage by more than 20 percent without a dual flush. FloWise has earned the right to bear the new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) WaterSense(SM) label. Much like the ENERGY STAR program for appliances, the WaterSense program makes it easy for consumers to select water-efficient products. To earn the WaterSense label, a toilet must use only 1.28 gallons per flush (gpf), down 20 percent from the 1.6 gpf found in conventional toilets. For more information on these and other American Standard products, visit http://www.americanstandard-us.com/. For information on the contest, comic book and action figure, plumbers can visit http://www.plumberprotects.com/. American Standard Companies Inc. (NYSE:ASD) operates the world's largest bath and kitchen products business. As part of a plan to separate its businesses, the company signed a definitive agreement on July 23 to sell the bath and kitchen business to Bain Capital Partners, LLC. American Standard expects to finalize that sale this fall. After the sale, the company will rename itself Trane Inc. and focus on its air conditioning systems and services business. For more information on the company separation plan, visit http://www.americanstandard.com/. DATASOURCE: American Standard Companies Inc. CONTACT: Consumer Media: Lindsey Rose of Carmichael Lynch Spong, +1-612-375-8516, ; or Trade Media: Nora DePalma of Building Profits Inc., +1-770-772-4726, Web site: http://www.americanstandard.com/

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