FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1996                         (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888


          HOUSTON CO. AND EXECUTIVE CHARGED WITH FIXING
             PRICES ON INSULATION FOR METAL BUILDINGS


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A Houston insulation company and one of
its executives were charged today by the Department of Justice
with fixing prices on insulation for metal buildings sold to
customers in Texas and Louisiana.

     The Department's Antitrust Division filed two separate one-
count criminal cases today in U.S. District Court in Houston,
against Hiplax International Corporation, which does business as
Brite Insulation, and Jerrold Warren Killingsworth, Vice
President of Sales.

     According to the Department, Hiplax and Killingsworth
conspired with others, from as early as January 1994 until June
1995, to raise, fix, and maintain prices for the sale of metal
building insulation to customers in Texas and Louisiana, in
violation of the Sherman Act.

     Insulation for use in metal buildings is made of fiberglass
coated with aluminum or plastic.  

     Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of
the Antitrust Division, said the charges resulted from a
nationwide investigation into suspected price fixing in the metal
building insulation industry.  The ongoing investigation is being
conducted by the Antitrust Division's Dallas Field Office with
the assistance of the Houston Office of the Federal Bureau of
Investigation.

     The maximum penalty for a corporation convicted under the
Sherman Act is a fine of $10 million, twice the pecuniary gain
the corporation derived from the crime, or twice the pecuniary
loss caused to the victims of the crime, whichever is greater.

     The maximum penalty for an individual convicted under the
Sherman Act is three years in prison and a fine of $350,000,
twice the pecuniary gain derived from the crime, or twice the
pecuniary loss caused to the victims of the crime, whichever is
greater.
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96-481