Triplette Competition Arms Crisis Communication Plan: Forge Fire at International Production Facility Developed by David Owens-Hill December

1, 2011

Plan rehearsal dates: ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________

This document is confidential. Please address questions/concerns to the Office of Human Resources or your immediate supervisor.

Contents Quick Reference Guide The Crisis Management Working Group Working Group Staff Working Group Meeting Place Triplette Competition Arms Crisis Communication Plan for an International Forge Fire With or Without Injuries Why is This Plan Important? What Could Happen if This Plan is not Followed? Has This Crisis Occurred Before? Acknowledgements Key Audiences Internal External Statement from Management to Employees, Domestic and Abroad Guiding Principles in Identifying and Managing a Crisis Principles Governing Crisis Communication in the Event of an Incident Determining When the Crisis Begins and Notifying the U.S.-based Crisis Management Working group International Calling Crisis Management Working Group Phone Tree The Media Spokesperson Primary Spokesperson Secondary Spokesperson Tips for Spokespersons List of Emergency Contacts Key Messages Evaluation of Plan Effectiveness After A Crisis Media Relations Community Outreach

Crisis Management Working Group Proactive Methods of Communication by Audience Reactive Methods of Communication Prepared Information Generic News Release for Forge Fire at an International Facility with injuries Generic News Release for Forge Fire at an International Facility without injuries TCA Forge Fact Sheet Triplette Competition Arms Fact Sheet Forging and Triplettes Use of Forged Blades The TCA Forge Facility Appendix Crisis Management Team Contact List Incident Report Worksheets/Action Log

Quick Reference Guide

The Crisis Management Working Group Authority to activate the Crisis Management Working Group is designated to each member. The Triplette Crisis Management Working Group must be available to respond and react as a team in emergency or crisis situations. The team will be required to meet annually to review existing crisis communication plans, create new plans for new scenarios, and update information as necessary. A written report of annual activity will be provided to the Department of Human Resources for review and approval.

Working Group Staff The Crisis Management Working Group will consist of the following roles. Staff assigned to each role is determined annually by nomination and vote from the Crisis Management Working Group: Incident Commander Information Leader Safety Officer General Staff Leaders: o Operations o Planning o Logistics o Administration

The following titles are permanent members of the Crisis Management Working Group: Vice President, Chief Operations Officer Vice President for Human Resources Director of International Business, Staff Interpreter Director of Operations, International Facilities Office Manager

Crisis Management Team Working Group General Plan (assumptions) In any situation where Police or Fire Departments are involved, they will secure the situation and take jurisdiction of all activities Wray Ward, Triplettes Public Relations firm of record, will coordinate all communication with the media in consultation with the Incident Commander The company spokesperson will work closely with the staff from Wray Ward in the event of an emergency Under no circumstances will any representative of Triplettes Crisis Management Team reveal a victims name, unless authorized to do so by the victim or the victims agents

Crisis Team Meeting Place In the event of a crisis or emergency where the primary administrative offices of Triplette Competition Arms are not affected, the Crisis Management Working Group will meet in En Garde One, the primary administrative conference room on the first floor of the management suite.

In the event of a crisis or emergency where the primary administrative offices of Triplette Completition Arms are affected, the Crisis Management Working Group will meet in The Old House. 331 Church Street Elkin, NC 28621 Parking gate code: 3022

Triplette Competition Arms Crisis Communication Plan for an International Forge Fire With or Without Injuries Why is this plan important? The key strength of Triplettes competitive advantage is in its ability to provide the highest-quality fencing equipment available at a reasonable cost. By maintaining our own forge facilities, we can maintain a higher capacity for fencing blade production and oversee control of quality specifications to a greater degree than were we to rely on vendors to meet our specifications. Fencing blades are at the heart of every fencers equipment pack and many athletes use our blades exclusively in their competitions. This is the trust that weve built with our consumers over the past three decades, and the trust that we must maintain at all cost. Once a fencer starts using Triplette blades, they understand the strength, durability, and quality of this product. Over the last 33 years, we have invested nearly $11m in international and domestic forge facilities and have refined our metallurgical recipe to create a blade that is uniquely ours. If production at any of our international facilities is halted because of fire, our supply chain will have an irrevocable break. Aside from business continuity, our French employees are a part of the Triplette family. Our U.S.-based employees may not see the everyday, but they are trusted colleagues who deserve our full efforts when affected by a workplace crisis.

What could happen if this plan is not followed? If this crisis communication plan is not followed in the event of an emergency, the companys reputation could be at stake in the insular fencing community. This will surely result in a loss of business. Trust and reliability are important to consumers, and they

must feel that they can rely on Triplette Competition Arms to provide the products they expect when they need them.

Has this crisis occurred before? We are fortunate that our company has never had an international forge fire with or without injuries. Because of the nature of metalworking, almost all of our direct competitors (including Prieur, Uhlmann, and Blue Gauntlet) have experienced forge fires in the past 8 years. None of these incidents resulted in injuries, but all created significant delays in the delivery of raw blades to the domestic facilities that built sport weapons. It is estimated that Uhlmanns fire in 2009which closed the companys weapons supply chain for 13 monthsultimately cost the organization $16.8m+ dollars in lost business.

Acknowledgements By signing this statement, I verify that I have read this crisis communication plan and am prepared to put it into effect.

President and CEO: Walter W. Triplette

Signature

Date

Vice President and COO: Laura O. Triplette

Signature

Date

Vice President for Human Resources: Rebecca Cauthren

Signature

Date

Director of International Business, Staff Interpreter: Kenneth Raspberry

Signature

Date

Key Audiences Internal Internal audiences likely affected by a forge fire include, but are not limited to: management, U.S.-based employees (sales, manufacturing, processing, customer service), France-based employees (manufacturing, business operations), Inter-government liaisons, investors, business development staff, and on-site team representatives.

External External audiences likely affected by a forge fire include, but are not limited to: customers, fencing coaches, community leaders in Saint-Denis and Paris (17 arr. and above), blog writers, media, and fencing forum contributors.

Statement from Management to Employees, Domestic and Abroad

This plan, in its entirety, is available in French for our international employees on the company intranet. Ce plan, dans son intgralit, est disponible en Franais pour nos employs internationaux sur l'intranet de l'entreprise.

Since it began in the back of the Oro Bike Shop on Franklin Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina 33 years ago, Triplette Competition Arms has always had one goal: to sell the sport fencing equipment that we always wanted to use but could never find at an affordable price. Our offices have gotten a little bit bigger, our staff a little larger, and our sales volume has grown, but our goal remains the same. The first year that we were in business, we sold $68 dollars worth of equipment to the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Fencing Team. In FY 2010 we sold more than $32M worth of equipment to more than 212,000 individual consumers in 9 countries. We grew out of necessityin order to provide the equipment we wanted to use, we had to create the equipment that we wanted to use, often from scratch. Weve done it, folks. Now we have to protect what weve built together. Were a family at Triplette. From the owners to the staff that take orders for us each day, we look out for one another. Weve prepared this plan to take care of our own. We hope never to employ this plan: in an ideal world, we could work everyday free from the fear of a workplace crisis. But we know better. The forge is a dangerous environment with molten metal and sparks at every hammering-station. We understand the danger inherent in this environment, and while weve done everything necessary to ensure the

safety of our employees and facility, we know its best to be prepared with a plan should a fire break out. Before we outline the steps to take should we have a fire in the forge, the entire management team would like to thank the hard working individuals on the Crisis Management Working Group and the employees who work everyday to make sure our operating environment is the best it can be. There are a few assumptions we must make about a crisis before we talk about how to manage one. We feel that the bullet points below are as much a part of our culture as our mission statement, and hope that you will agree.

Guiding Principles in Identifying and Managing a Crisis The protection of human life and health is of the utmost importance Triplette property and other resources shall be protected and preserved whenever possible consistent with the primary of human health and safety Triplette shall, wherever possible, assist local authorities and may allocate facilities, equipment, and personnel to assist in the event of an incident The Triplette attorney of record shall be consulted in cases where the legal responsibilities of the organization are unclear

Policies Governing Crisis Communication in the Event of an Incident Communications shall be from the President of Triplette Competition Arms or his designee with respect to crises affecting the organization The Crisis Management Working Group, including foreign employees, shall inform the President and Vice Presidents of any crisis that has occurred or that is threatening life, health, or company property, and give periodic status reports as information is made available Appropriate information shall be routed to company employees as outlined in this crisis communication plan The Human Resources Office shall be the contact group for adaptations or revisions to this plan

Determining When the Crisis Begins and Notifying the U.S.-based Crisis Management Working Group In the event of an international forge fire, the director of that facility is responsible for notifying the Crisis Management Working Group. The Crisis Management Working Group should be notified in the event of any emergencyeven if the fire is small and is quickly extinguished. Because of the nature of metalworking, fires are not uncommon and, unfortunately, injuries often occur. The 2009 Uhlmann forge fire opened the eyes of our crisis communicators to the likelihood of this event. When employees, especially those stationed abroad, are injured the situation can create serious long-term problems such as: Loss of business Reduced workforce Negative publicity Supply chain issues Legal repercussions

Though we train each employee to minimize danger, we must be prepared to recognize and address the beginning of a crisis in order to best manage it.

International calling All Triplette corporate cellular telephones have international calling plans. In the event of a crisis, the first call should be to the top of the Crisis Management Working Group Phone Tree/Incident Manager. Email is not an appropriate alternative to a phone call in the event of a crisis. If you are calling from a phone other than a Triplette corporate cellular telephone, please note the following international calling instructions:

To call from the U.S. to Paris, France: Dial 011 + 33 + 4 + local number (Paris local time is six hours AHEAD of Eastern Standard Time) To call from Paris, France to the U.S.: Dial 00 + 1* + 1 + Area Code + Phone Number (U.S. Eastern Standard Time is six hours BEHIND Paris local time)

Crisis Management Working Group Phone Tree

International Incident Contact

U.S.-based Incident Manager

President

Information Leader/Spokesperson

Safety Of>icer

Operations

Planning

Logistics

Administrative Support

The Media Spokesperson In the event of an international forge fire that generates media attention, the media spokesperson shall represent the company on all matters related to the crisis. Uniformity of message is very important and the spokesperson will be responsible for working directly with the staff-translator to ensure messages distributed domestically and abroad are consistent. Because of cultural differences, it is preferred that the spokesperson selected for media coverage be a member of the international travel team if the primary and secondary spokespersons are not available.

Primary Spokesperson Walter W. Triplette, President and CEO Office Tel: 336-835-7774, ext. 26 Mobile Tel: 336-366-0171 Home Tel: 336-835-4176 Email: walter@triplette.com

Secondary Spokesperson Kenneth Raspberry, Director of International Business and Staff Translator Office Tel: 336-835-7774, ext. 21 Mobile Tel: 336-366-0179 Home Tel: 336-835-4321 Email: ken@triplette.com

Tips for spokespersons Prepare for answering who, what, when, where, why and how Focus on key messages from Crisis Management Working Group Review background information gathered by Crisis Management Working Group

Be accessible and pleasant to reporters: show respect, and remember their names; speak in their native tongue only if you are comfortable you can do so without stumblingengage a translator if necessary Avoid saying no comment Be honest Face the reporter, not the camera or the microphone Avoid jargon: speak in everyday language Do not speculate, ask for clarification if necessary, refer to the France-based local authorities to answer questions if appropriate

List of Emergency Contacts NYA International Crisis Prevention and Response (Consultant available for International Crises) 1 Cornhill London Ec3V 3ND +44 (0) 203 170 8661 TCA Forge, Physical address and location Zl du BEC Rue Antoine Lavoisier 42500 Le Chambon-Feugerolles +33 (4) 77 61 86 24 Hotel Mirific Opera (Penthouse retained for Triplette business, all seasons) 119 Avenue de Clichy 75017 Paris, France +33 (4) 46 27 28 04 Paris Fire Brigade, First Fire Group (first responders at the Saint-Denis forge location) 12 Rue Carpeaux 75018 Paris, France +33 (4) 42 26 83 18

Key Messages In the event of an incident at TCA forge, a wholly-owned French Subsidiary of Triplette Competition Arms, our first priority is our people. Our French employees are as important the Triplette family as those in our U.S. centers of operation and we will take any measures necessary to ensure their safety and security in the event of a fire. Our employees are more than craftspeople. They are highly trained, very skilled metalworkers with a long history of safe operations in their facilities. In the event of a fire at a forge facility with injuries, we will work with local authorities to secure the scene and will provide any resources necessary to the families, employees, and community affected by the crisis. Human life and safety will be our primary concern in the event of a fire. Once these considerations are covered, we will turn to the investigative mindset to diagnose the cause of the crisis and will work with local authorities to deliver reports to our customers and stakeholders explaining the cause of the crisis and the steps taken to ensure a similar crisis does not occur in the future. We will restate constantly our superior, unblemished safety record at our forge facilities, the safety training available to our employees domestic and abroad, our commitment to excellence in product production and customer service (if products are made scarce because of a facility shut-down), and our commitment to protecting our people.

The following key messages should be stressed in the order indicated:

1. Our biggest concern is for the victims and families of those affected 2. We are sorry for what happened and will continually work to ensure our facilities are as safe as possible 3. We have never had a safety lapse in any of our international facilities and revise our fire-plans annually to ensure they are up-to-date with factory specifications and operations 4. If we dont know how it happened, we will work around the clock to find out and will inform the appropriate parties as soon as possible 5. We maintain a strict safety code and participate in French and European Union employee safety programs to ensure our international family have safe working conditions

Evaluation of Plan Effectiveness After a Crisis After a crisis, the following steps will be followed to ensure that Triplette is better prepared for the future. This evaluation is for looking at what went right and what went wrong during the crisis. It covers all aspects of the crisis, including media relations, community outreach, and the Crisis Management Working Groups performance. 1. Media Relations: Working with Wray Ward, Triplettes Public Relations firm of record, review Media Ping reports for the period preceding the event, during the event, and following the event to identify patterns of media coverage internationally and abroad. Meltwater, the system used to track media coverage, will provide a positive/negative score based on certain keywords and tone used in media coverage. By evaluating these scores using pre-event coverage as a baseline, we can evaluate a return to normalcy post-event. Additionally, staff resources will be made available to monitor the many fencing forums, blogs, and web-resources populated by our customers and community. A daily report of comments of interest will be generated in the weeks following the crisis to ensure our customers, not just the media, are confident in our return to business as usual. Social media will be tracked in much the same way, though we encourage our internal marketing staff to interact with users of social media, not just to evaluate response. 2. Community Outreach: Our community initiatives are physical and digital. Our first priority must be our people. We will ensure that the community affected by the fire, including displaced employees, victims families, neighborhoods affected

by smoke/fire, etc. are financially compensated for their time. We will ensure post-crisis rebuilding of any facilities and neighborhoods affected. 3. Crisis Management Working Group: Did the team perform well under pressure? Did the notification plans for internal and external audiences effectively convey the information necessary? Were any employees unavailable or systemically ill-equipped to handle the crisis. Do we need to add or remove members of the Crisis Management Working Group?

Following a forge fire, the Crisis Management Working Group will assemble a debrief report no more than 14 business days after the Incident Commander closes the crisis file. This report will be used to refine this communication plan, as necessary, with key learnings.

Proactive Methods of Communication by Audience In the event of a crisis, the following publics should be contacted in the manner indicated in the chart below:
Marketing Materials Internet Response

Intranet

Public

Crisis Management Working Group Company Owners (including investors) U.S.-based Based Employees France-based Employees Customers Electronic Media (forums, user groups, customer interaction sites.) Daily Newspapers (U.S. and International) Weekly Newspapers/Industry Newsletters Fencing-specific news publications Fdration Internationale dEscrime leadership Suppliers Fencing Community Leaders

News Release

Email

Tel.

Additional lines of communication are made available and employed as advised by the Incident Commander and Public Relations agency of record.

Reactive Methods of Communication In the event of a forge fire, we anticipate the majority of media calls to be routed to the administrative headquarters of the facility there. Once a crisis file is opened by the Crisis Management Working Group, the administrative staff of the Saint-Denis office will be instructed to use the I.P. forward features of the installed phone system to seamlessly direct their calls to the U.S. administrative office where they will be accepted by the Crisis Management Working Group. The administrative support staff on the working group will direct, dispatch, and log calls as appropriate. Calls not related to the incident will be forwarded to voicemail. The administrative staffers responsible for this assignment will be bilingual in English and in French, but will also have support from the internal interpreter. The forge does not maintain a separate web-presence. Triplettes website is equipped with a crisis banner that can be applied to the homepage as needed when directed by the Incident Commander. The Director of Marketing controls this function. Should a crisis hotline be established, it will forward to the main line of En Garde One, the administrative conference room, and calls will be addressed by the administrative support staff of the Crisis Management Working Group.

Prepared Information Generic News Release for Forge Fire at International Facility with injuries (N) employees from TCA Forge, a wholly-owned French subsidiary of Triplette Competition Arms (Charlotte, North Carolina), are being treated for injuries sustained in a fire at the forge facility in Saint-Denis outside Paris, France. The extent of the injuries are not known at this time, and questions about the condition of the employees are being referred to the [name of hospital] hospital in Paris. We are very concerned about the members of our family affected by this tragedy, and pray for a speedy recovery, said [spokespersons name] Triplettes [spokespersons title]. According to [whom], the fire began in the [area of facility] and was extinguished in [amount of time]. At this time, the cause of the fire is undetermined. The facility manufactures sport fencing blades for Triplette, a 33 year old, family-run business in North Carolina. The fire is being investigated by local authorities. This is the first fire at this facility, opened by the Blaise brothers in 1885, and there are no safety violations on record with the European Union Employee Safety Commission.

Generic News Release for Forge Fire at International Facility without injuries TCA Forge, a wholly-owned French subsidiary of Triplette Competition Arms (Charlotte, North Carolina), sustained fire damage at the forge facility in Saint-Denis outside Paris, France. The extent of the damage to the facility is undetermined at this time and no employees were injured.

A fire is a constant threat at this type of facility, but we are relieved that all of our French family are safe and vow to reopen the facility as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will work to maintain our employees stability while we rebuild, said [spokespersons name] Triplettes [spokespersons title]. According to [whom], the fire began in the [area of facility] and was extinguished in [amount of time]. At this time, the cause of the fire is undetermined. The facility manufactures sport Fencing blades for Triplette, a 33 year old, family-run business in North Carolina. The fire is being investigated by local authorities. This is the first fire at this facility, opened by the Blaise brothers in 1885, and there are no safety violations on record with the European Union Employee Safety Commission.

TCA Forge Fact Sheet The TCA Forge was founded by the Blaise brothers in 1885. It is located in SaintDenis, outside Paris, France. Originally the company manufacturerd Blaise farm tools before turning to production of blades for sport Fencing weapons. Walter Triplette of Triplette Competition Arms purchased the forge from the Blaise Family in 1988, creating a wholly-owned subsidiary of his premier fencing supply house. TCA Forge, and Triplette, are global leaders in the manufacture and sale of foil, epee, and sabre blades for sport fencing competition. TCA Forge employs 45 and produces 50,000-60,000 blades per year.

Triplette Competition Arms Fact Sheet Triplette Competition Arms was founded in 1978 in the back of a bicycle shop in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The company was created by fencers, for fencers; specifically those who couldnt find the equipment they needed at affordable prices. Now located in Elkin, North Carolina, Triplette has a staff of nearly 150, spread across three facilities. With annual sales over $30M, the companys goal, according to Walter Triplette, has never changed: to provide the equipment we, as fencers, would want to use. As one of the oldest fencing supply house in the United States, Triplette produces uniforms, gloves, masks, and weapons.

Forging and Triplettes Use of Forged Blades Forging is one of the oldest known metalworking processes. The process of forging involves using pounding and pressure to shape molten metal. Fencing blades that are forged are generally lighter, more flexible, and stronger than their extruded counterparts. Since 1978, Triplette has only sold forged blades. In a presentation to the Fdration Internationale dEscrime (FIE), Triplette explained that, though extruded blades are cheaper to produce, the final product is of inferior quality and, because of a higher risk of breakage, dangerous to the consumer. Because of the companys pioneering efforts, in 2001, the FIE banned extruded blades from Tier One competitions. Triplette blades use a special, proprietary blend of metals refined over the last 25 years of business. Though the special formula is patented and trademarked, many competitors have tried to replicate the special qualities of a Triplette blade. Many

customers tell Triplette that, though some come close, no one can replicate the feeling of a TCA blade.

The TCA Forge Facility Constructed in 1989 at a cost of $4M, the TCA Forge facility is considered a technological frontrunner in the manufacture of sport fencing blades. The facility features state-of-the-art foundry equipment, fire actuator system, full sprinkler coverage across the entire facility and additional foam heads in hot areas (those where molten metals are moved from kiln to hammer-stations. The facility has a spotless safety record with no recorded incidents of human injury since Triplette took control of the facility. Management teams from the U.S. are on-site at the French facility, and Triplette staff regularly travel to Paris to inspect the facility and products produced.

Appendix

Crisis Management Team Contact List Fill in the worksheet below at the annual Crisis Management Working Group kick-off meeting with appropriate contact information. This information should be checked and updated no less than three times per calendar year at dates determined by the years incident commander.

Crisis Management Working Group for __________________ (calendar year)

Incident Commander: _____________________________________________________

Employee

Mobile Tel.

Home Tel.

Email address

Incident Report Worksheets/Action Log The worksheet below must be filled in during times of crisis communication. Once a crisis file is opened by the Incident Commander, the actions of each team member must be recorded so that a complete timeline can be constructed during the debrief reporting period.

Date

Time

Activity

Person Responsible

Notes: