A New Beginning for Waterford Crystal as New Manufacturing Facility, Visitor Centre and Retail Outlet Opens in the Heart of Waterford

By Waterford Crystal, PRNE
Monday, June 21, 2010

WATERFORD, Ireland, June 22, 2010 - A new beginning for Waterford Crystal is marked today with the official
opening of the House of Waterford Crystal on the Mall in the heart of
Waterford City. The new facility, which comprises manufacturing facility,
visitor centre and retail outlet, ensures that the combined history of over
600 years of heritage, tradition and craftsmanship, remains firmly rooted in
Waterford. This milestone event is the result of an agreement between WWRD
Holdings Limited ("WWRD"), the leading luxury goods group which owns and
operates the Waterford Crystal, Wedgwood and Royal Doulton brands and
Waterford City Council.

The House of Waterford Crystal will employ 79 full-time and 33 part-time
staff, with a further 30-40 temporary staff during peak season, and will
annually produce around 40,000 hand crafted high end pieces using traditional
methods. It will also act as a central laboratory for Waterford Crystal's
designers to ensure that all of the brand's products have an enduring
connection with Waterford's unrivalled tradition of craftsmanship and design.

The manufacturing facility contains a brand new continuous melt tank
furnace that has been tailor-made for Waterford Crystal's specifications, and
will produce two tonnes of molten crystal every day. It uses leading edge
technology to deliver molten crystal of the highest quality for skilled
master blowers to hand-shape and hand-blow Waterford Crystal's range of
premium products. All aspects of the manufacturing process will be fully
accessible to visitors, who will learn about both historical and contemporary
production techniques through direct interaction with the craftsmen and from
audiovisual materials. In addition, the onsite retail centre will represent
the largest display of Waterford Crystal anywhere in the world.

Pierre de Villemejane, CEO of WWRD, said: "Today represents the
culmination of a huge amount of hard work on the part of WWRD, its owners -
KPS Capital Partners - and Waterford City Council to get this project off the
ground. We are extremely proud of the House of Waterford Crystal, and its
commitment to quality, heritage and cutting-edge design represents everything
that this brand stands for. We look forward to welcoming visitors from all
over the world to our new centre, and to continuing the city of Waterford's
extraordinary tradition of producing crystal of the very highest quality."

Further information:

    UK and international media:

    Powerscourt:
    Rob Greening / Lisa Kavanagh
    +44-7809-698-259 or +44-7872-604-889

    Irish media:

    Weber Shandwick:
    Norman Pratt / Mary McCarthy
    +353-86-151-8921 or +353-86-2568-429

UK and international media: Powerscourt: Rob Greening / Lisa Kavanagh - +44-7809-698-259 or
+44-7872-604-889; Irish media: Weber Shandwick: Norman Pratt / Mary McCarthy - +353-86-151-8921 or +353-86-2568-429

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