Universal Forest Products, Inc. (Nasdaq: UFPI) is pleased to announce that its CEO Matthew J. Missad has been included in Fortune magazine’s Businessperson of the Year list, an annual ranking of just 50 corporate leaders published today.

“Concrete results. They’re what drive Fortune’s annual ranking of corporate chieftains,” states the article. “Of course, intangibles and inspiration matter. But what counts most for companies is the ability to generate cold, hard cash. What follows is an assemblage of superstars who navigated the inevitable turmoil this year and led their companies to stellar and, yes, concrete results.”

He is in the company of leaders such as Nike’s Mark Parker (who took the number-one spot), Apple’s Tim Cook, Larry Page of Alphabet (Google’s holding company) and Priceline’s Darren Huston. At number 45 on the list, Missad’s long history with the company and his success as CEO are noted in the Fortune article (which can be found here: http://fortune.com/businessperson-of-the-year/matthew-missad-45/).

“You wouldn’t want a wood-products company to be, er, lumbering—but deep roots help,” it states. “The latter might explain why CEO Missad, who started working at the company as part of a maintenance crew in high school, is leading the company to unprecedented heights. The company just reported the best third-quarter results in its history and its profits over the past 12 months, according to S&P CapitalIQ, are three times what they were just three years ago.”

Missad called it “a surprise and an honor,” adding, “I am just a small part of an organization that has many diverse elements, including a great management team, a strong board, and the best employees in the business. While I’m tremendously humbled by the recognition, the credit for our success goes to each of them. I am grateful to everyone at the companies of Universal for their hard work and ingenuity, which drive our success.”

“Matt has been instrumental to our success for 30 years,” said Chairman William G. Currie. “This recognition is well-earned and is a great testimony to his strong leadership and to the success of the corporation. Universal is a great American company with a great story and Matt exemplifies what we’re all about – hard work, integrity, ingenuity and a fierce determination to be a leader in all that we do.”

Fortune said it weighed 10 metrics to come up with the list, with 12-month and 36-month increases in profits and revenues at the core of the analysis to provide a longer-term picture of each company’s success. The magazine also factored in stock performance, total shareholder returns and ratio of debt to capital, as well as nonfinancial elements like business influence, leadership style and strategic initiatives.

UNIVERSAL FOREST PRODUCTS, INC.

Universal Forest Products, Inc. is a holding company that supplies wood, wood composite and other products to three robust markets: retail, construction and industrial. Founded in 1955, the Company is headquartered in Grand Rapids, Mich., with affiliates throughout North America and in Australia. For more about Universal Forest Products, go to www.ufpi.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act, as amended, that are based on management’s beliefs, assumptions, current expectations, estimates and projections about the markets we serve, the economy and the Company itself. Words like “anticipates,” “believes,” “confident,” “estimates,” “expects,” “forecasts,” “likely,” “plans,” “projects,” “should,” variations of such words, and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. These statements do not guarantee future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict with regard to timing, extent, likelihood and degree of occurrence. The Company does not undertake to update forward-looking statements to reflect facts, circumstances, events, or assumptions that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made. Actual results could differ materially from those included in such forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainty. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements are the following: fluctuations in the price of lumber; adverse or unusual weather conditions; adverse economic conditions in the markets we serve; government regulations, particularly involving environmental and safety regulations; and our ability to make successful business acquisitions. Certain of these risk factors as well as other risk factors and additional information are included in the Company's reports on Form 10-K and 10-Q on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission.