JOINT VENTURE SUMMARY
MOUNT CARMEL & OHIOHEALTH
May 2003

COMTEX
Central Ohio Medical Textiles

Land & Buildings

The steps needed to prepare the COMTEX site for construction of the plant have now been completed and foundation and footer building permits are anticipated to be issued sometime before Friday, May 2, 2003. The City of Columbus has completed the trenching and conduit of high voltage to the point where the COMTEX transformer will be located and many of the various sub-trades have begun to mobilize and prepare for on-site work.

All bids have now been received for components such as painting, masonry, carpentry, paving etc., and the successful companies are being interviewed and selected. It is anticipated that this process will be completed by May 2, 2003 and, at that time, a final Gross Maximum Price (GMP) for the project will be available. In the meantime, crews continue to finalize the natural gas and water taps for the site.

The picture below shows the COMTEX pad ready for construction.

Click Images to Enlarge

Equipment

Equipment selection has turned from processing equipment to support equipment, and firms that provide office furnishings, computers, telephones, vending machines, maintenance equipment, and window treatments are being interviewed. Key components that are being analyzed and reviewed at this time include:

• Telephone/data/security/paging systems
• Time clock/card swipe/hand reading devices/ATM machine
• Office furniture/chairs/desks/files/window treatments
• Computers/servers/monitors/keyboards/backup systems
• Vending machines/refrigerators/microwaves/coffee makers/ice machines
• Facsimiles/copiers/duplicators/printers/binding machines
• Ladders/tools/pallet lifters/man hoists/welders/fork lifts.

Budgeting & Finance

A total of $14,085,000 in financing has been made available to COMTEX to proceed with the project. In the month of April, just over $550,000 was spent to advance the project. Most of this funding was required for processing equipment, while the balance was used to initiate the complex funding arrangements. A cash flow statement prepared for COMTEX, projects that an average of $1,000,000 will be spent each month until project completion, with the exception of the month of December 2003, where expenditures are expected to exceed $3,500,000.

Staffing

A Human Resources committee made up of staff from OhioHealth, Mount Carmel, and COMTEX continue to meet to prepare a salary and benefits package for the plant. Some of the key objectives and milestones for this group included:

• Providing internal communication reports for existing Laundry worker staff
• Finalizing compensation ranges for all COMTEX staff positions
• Developing and tendering the COMTEX benefit plans for staff
• Drafting operations policies and procedures
• Creating a video to inform staff about COMTEX and the positions available
• Developing procedures to address any displaced staff as a result of COMTEX.