General Cable and Panduit Announce Alliance and Introduce PanGen™ Structured Cabling Solutions

New Technology-Enabling Systems For Both Performance-Driven and Value-Oriented Applications

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. and TINLEY PARK, Ill., Nov 9, 2004 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- General Cable Corporation (NYSE:BGC), a global manufacturer of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable, and Panduit, a world leader in network and electrical solutions, today announced a new alliance and the introduction of the PanGen(TM) Structured Cabling Solutions designed to meet diverse network infrastructure requirements. The new General Cable and Panduit alliance brings together two respected leaders in cable and connectivity to provide a comprehensive line of structured cabling solutions. The strength of this new alliance includes research and product development along with extensive joint marketing and sales programs, which will bring enhanced customer-focused products and services to the market.

PanGen structured cabling is offered in two copper Category solutions -- performance-driven PanGen™ Plus for the open-architecture enterprise market and value-oriented PanGen™ Pro for the smaller-sized business market. PanGen Plus solutions are offered with high-performance Category 5e and Category 6 cables and connectivity products. PanGen Pro solutions provide Category 5e and minimally compliant Category 6 cables for a high-quality option at an economical installed cost. All PanGen systems are backed by comprehensive technical support, cable management expertise and an outstanding PanGen(TM) System Warranty Program.

"Panduit is proud to join forces with General Cable to deliver premier open architecture PanGen structured cabling solutions to the industry," said Andy Caveney, Panduit Vice President, Business Development. "We recognize General Cable's commitment to service, quality and cable technology expertise and believe their strengths complement ours extremely well."

"General Cable is excited to partner with the industry's leading connectivity manufacturer," added Jim Barney General Cable's Senior Vice President and General Manager, Communications. "With our joint commitment to research and development, manufacturing excellence, customer satisfaction and ongoing industry leadership, we believe we bring tremendous value to our mutual customers."

PanGen structured network cabling and connectivity systems will be sold through authorized General Cable and Panduit Distributors. For more information, call General Cable at 1-800-424-5666 or Panduit at 1-800-777-3300. General Cable and Panduit are planning to premiere the new PanGen structured cabling solutions to contractors with exhibits and conferences held at the 2005 BICSI Winter Conference in Orlando, Florida on January 24th through the 27th.

About Panduit

PANDUIT is a global leader in wiring and communication products, delivering end-to-end solutions in support of demanding electrical and networking requirements. The PANDUIT solution is built on a foundation of quality and durability to ensure maximum reliability and performance. Continually focused on market needs, research and development enables PANDUIT to provide innovative products that meet today's applications and environments. This provides leading-edge solutions that allow businesses to move forward with their strategic objectives.

About General Cable

GENERAL CABLE, headquartered in Highland Heights, Kentucky, is a leader in the development, design, manufacture, marketing and distribution of copper, aluminum and fiber optic wire and cable products for the energy, industrial, specialty and communications markets. The Company offers competitive strengths in such areas as breadth of product line, brand recognition, distribution and logistics, sales and service and operating efficiency. Energy cables include low-, medium- and high-voltage power distribution and power transmission products. The Industrial and Specialty segment is comprised of application-specific cables for uses such as electrical power generation (traditional fuels, alternative and renewable sources, and distributed generation), the oil, gas and petrochemical industries, mining, industrial automation, marine, military and aerospace applications, power applications in the telecommunications industry, and other key industrial segments. Communications wire and cable products transmit low-voltage signals for voice, data, video and control applications. Visit General Cable's website at www.GeneralCable.com.

Certain statements in this press release, including without limitation, statements regarding future financial results and performance, plans and objectives, capital expenditures and General Cable's (the Company) or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those statements as a result of factors, risks and uncertainties over which the Company has no control. Such factors include economic and political consequences resulting from the September 2001 terrorist attack and the war with Iraq, domestic and local country price competition, particularly in certain segments of the power cable market and other competitive pressures; general economic conditions, particularly in construction; changes in customer or distributor purchasing patterns in our business segments; the Company's ability to increase manufacturing capacity and productivity; the financial impact of any future plant closures; the Company's ability to successfully complete and integrate acquisitions and divestitures; the Company's ability to negotiate extensions of labor agreements on acceptable terms; the Company's ability to service debt requirements and maintain adequate domestic and international credit facilities and credit lines; the Company's ability to pay dividends on its preferred stock; the impact of unexpected future judgments or settlements of claims and litigation; the Company's ability to achieve target returns on investments in its defined benefit plans; the Company's ability to avoid limitations on utilization of net losses for income tax purposes; the cost of raw materials, including copper and aluminum; the Company's ability to increase its selling prices during periods of increasing raw material costs; the impact of foreign currency fluctuations; the impact of technological changes; and other factors which are discussed in the Company's Report on Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 12, 2004, as well as periodic reports filed with the Commission.

SOURCE: General Cable Corporation

General Cable Corporation
Mike Dickerson, 859-572-8684

or

Panduit
Ronald K. Partridge, 708-532-1800