Sears Names Crowley Liner Services as a Partner in Progress

(Jacksonville, Fla.; April 16, 2004) – Crowley Liner Services has been named as a Sears Partner in Progress for 2003. Crowley provides ocean cargo transportation services between the U.S. mainland, Puerto Rico, Central America and the Caribbean for Sears.

This prestigious award is presented annually to a select group of supplier companies that provide Sears, Roebuck and Co. with quality products and services, from apparel, appliances and tools to marketing, transportation services and technology. More than 10,000 sources competed for this award in 2003.

Crowley was honored on April 13 at an event hosted by Sears Chairman and CEO Alan J. Lacy at Sears headquarters in Hoffman Estates, Ill. John Douglass, senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico Caribbean services, along with John Kelley, area sales manager, and Jorge Estevez, vice president of sales and marketing, accepted the award on Crowley’s behalf.

During the ceremony, Crowley was also presented with the Category Quality Supplier of the Year award and was recognized with top honors as the Sears Non-merchandise Services Group Quality Supplier of the Year.

Begun more than 20 years ago, the Partners in Progress program recognizes sources that make significant contributions to the growth of Sears businesses and the creation of new ways to better serve Sears customers. The winners were selected from nominations submitted by Sears employees who purchase goods and services for the company.

“Receiving recognition from Sears is a tremendous honor for Crowley,” Douglass said. “Our company and our employees work every day to ensure that we provide the most dependable, quality service possible.”

Sears, Roebuck and Co., Hoffman Estates, Ill., is a leading broadline retailer providing merchandise and related services. With revenues in 2003 of $41.1 billion, the company offers its wide range of home merchandise, apparel and automotive products and services through more than 2,300 Sears-branded and affiliated stores in the U.S. and Canada, which includes approximately 870 full-line and 1,100 specialty stores in the U.S. Sears also offers a variety of merchandise and services through sears.com, landsend.com, and specialty catalogs. Sears is the only retailer where consumers can find each of the Kenmore, Craftsman, DieHard and Lands’ End brands together among the most trusted and preferred brands in the U.S. The company is the largest provider of product repair services with more than 14 million services calls made annually.

Crowley Liner Services, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., is a subsidiary of Oakland-based Crowley Maritime Corporation and is part of its liner segment. The corporation, founded in 1892, is primarily family- and employee-owned, and is engaged in worldwide logistics, liner services, contract towing and transportation, energy support services, ship assist and escort services, vessel management and petroleum and chemical marine transport. Additional information about Crowley, its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com.

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