Winston-Salem, NC – October 9, 2004 – By Nate Degraff, Staff Writer

Mickey Mouse and Madison will soon be joined at the strip - in Asia.

The union will take place sometime during the next several months, when about 350,000 pavers from one of Pine Hall Brick's Rockingham County plants will be placed on sidewalks at Hong Kong Disneyland. The theme park is scheduled to open in late 2005 or early 2006.

"When you think about it, it's kind of an interesting thing that you can ship bricks halfway around the world," said Ted Corvey, paver director for Winston-Salem-based Pine Hall Brick.

Pine Hall landed the Hong Kong deal after the company was chosen for a project at the original Disneyland theme park in Anaheim, Calif. The pavers form paths that lead to and encircle a statue of Mickey Mouse and Walt Disney.

The entertainment giant liked the look of Pine Hall's pink-hued pavers, so it tapped the local brick maker for the Hong Kong project.

"They like consistency at Disney ... and they wanted to duplicate that over at the facility in Hong Kong," Corvey said.

Pine Hall started shipping the pavers to Hong Kong in August. Most of the bricks took a month-long boat ride to their new home, but a small number flew because Disney needed them quickly to meet a construction deadline, Corvey said.

All of the bricks were produced at one of Pine Hall's three plants in Madison. The company recently built a fourth plant in Georgia.

Dick Jennison, president and CEO of the Reston, Va.-based Brick Industry Association, said Disney carefully chooses the materials for its theme parks, so Pine Hall's selection is a compliment .

"If you know anything about Disney, for Disney to select Pine Hall says a lot about Pine Hall, no matter where the brick is shipped," Jennison said.

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