ALPHARETTA, Ga., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc., (NYSE: SWM) today announced the establishment of the new position of Senior Corporate Vice-President -- Global LIP and the appointment of Mr. Dean M. McCaskill to this position reporting to Otto Herbst, Chief Operating Officer.

In announcing the decision to establish this position, Frederic Villoutreix, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer commented, "As the demand for paper used in Low Ignition Propensity (LIP) cigarettes grows from North America into Europe and globally into other regions of the world, we have determined that we need to establish a designated business unit to satisfy market demands. This new role will be responsible for the world-wide manufacturing facilities and developing and implementing our sales and marketing plans for this product group. In hiring Dean, we believe we have recruited the person with the necessary skills and international background to reach our global LIP objectives to become the leading innovator and supplier of these papers to the tobacco industry."

Previously, Mr. McCaskill, age 50, was President and CEO, then Corporate Development Officer for Turck Inc., a leading global manufacturer of sensors and factory automation products. From 2004 to 2005, Mr. McCaskill was General Manager of Barnes Group, a specialty manufacturer of high precision valves. From 1998 to 2003, he was with Honeywell International where he first served as Vice-President -- Security and Fire Solutions, then President -- Automation and Control Solutions, Latin America. Mr. McCaskill is multi-lingual, possesses a strong global work pedigree, with assignments in Europe, Latin America and Asia including several Greenfield projects and a number of successful mergers and acquisition ventures. Mr. McCaskill holds a B.A. degree in Business Management from the University of Hartford's Barney School of Business and a Masters degree in International Management from the Thunderbird School of Global Management.

Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc. is a diversified producer of premium specialty papers and the world's largest supplier of fine papers to the tobacco industry. It also manufactures specialty papers for use in other applications. Schweitzer-Mauduit and its subsidiaries conduct business in over 90 countries and employ 3,200 people worldwide with operations in the United States, France, Brazil, the Philippines, Indonesia, Canada and a joint venture in China. For further information please visit the Company's Web site at www.schweitzer-mauduit.com.

Contact: Bill Foust Torben Wetche


               770-569-4203        770-569-4277

SOURCE Schweitzer-Mauduit International, Inc.