S.P. Richards Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Genuine Parts Company (GPC:NYSE) and leading wholesale distributor of business and office supplies, announced today….

Tom Maley has joined S.P. Richards Company as Director of Financial Planning.

Maley's responsibilities will be centered around various financial planning and analysis projects. "Maley's educational and professional background make him an ideal candidate to assume the challenges associated with this newly created role," said Wayne Beacham, President and CEO of S.P. Richards Co.

Maley is a graduate of Georgetown University with a Degree of Finance and also holds an MBA from Notre Dame. Before joining S.P. Richards, Maley served as Manager of Finance for Intermedia Communications. Prior to this, he worked with KPMG Peat Marwick as Senior Consultant and with General Dynamics Corp. as Corporate Auditor.

"I am excited about the opportunity to join S.P. Richards," said Maley. "I am so impressed with the company's rich and successful history, innovative industry leadership and invigorating team spirit. It is great to be a part of the team!"

S.P. Richards Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Genuine Parts Company (GPC: NYSE), distributes a wide spectrum of business products to office products resellers throughout the U.S. and Canada. These products include consumable office supplies, office furniture, computer supplies, consumer electronics, and facilities supplies from all of the major industry manufacturers. S.P. Richards Company markets several private label lines under the brand names of Sparco, Nature Saver, Compucessory, and Elite Image. The company operates 43 Distribution Centers in the United States and Canada, including Horizon USA, its computer supplies subsidiary and Norwestra, a Canadian based Business

Genuine Parts Company is a diversified distribution and services company that operates four wholly owned subsidiaries. The Company is a leading distributor of automotive replacement parts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico; industrial replacement parts in the U.S., Canada and Mexico through its Motion Industries subsidiary; office products nationwide in the U.S. and Canada through its S.P. Richards Company subsidiary; and electrical and electronic components throughout the U.S. and Mexico through its EIS, Inc. subsidiary. Genuine Parts Company had 2001 revenues of $8.2 billion.