Dorel Juvenile Group Supports AAP Recommendation for Children to Ride Rear Facing in Car Seats Until Age Two

COLUMBUS, Ind. and FOXBORO, Mass., March 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Dorel Juvenile Group USA (DJG), a division of Dorel Industries (TSX: DII.B, DII.A), and the nation's largest juvenile products manufacturer, announced today it supports the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation for children to ride rear facing in vehicles until age two or until they reach the maximum height and weight limits allowed by their car seat. As the world's largest manufacturer of children's car seats, DJG offers parents and caregivers more choices in car seat design than any other manufacturer, many of which offer the highest rear facing weight and height limits available.  DJG manufactures car seats under the Safety 1st, S1, Cosco, and Maxi-Cosi brands and Eddie Bauer and Disney licenses.

As the leader in the category, DJG consistently invests in safety and quality as underlined by last year's multi-million dollar investment in the DJG Technical Center for Child Safety at the company's Columbus, Indiana car seat manufacturing campus.  As demonstrated by DJG's advanced testing methods, it is proven that crash forces are distributed over the entire body of a child while riding rear facing further protecting their head, neck and spine in the case of an accident.

"We are pleased to see the AAP is closely monitoring the issue of car seat safety," said Dave Taylor, President of Dorel Juvenile Group USA.  "At DJG we are constantly investing in child passenger safety to offer innovative safety solutions and together with the AAP we can help make travel safer for families on the road." 

Next month DJG will open a free car seat inspection station at its car seat manufacturing headquarters in Columbus, Indiana and this summer Dorel will sponsor free car seat safety checks for parents across the country working with AAA and Dorel's 80 trained Child Passenger Safety Technicians.  DJG has invested in training more of its employees as Child Passenger Safety Technicians than all other car seat manufacturers combined. 

For more information about DJG USA, visit www.djgusa.com.

Dorel Industries Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A) is a world class juvenile products and bicycle company.  Established in 1962, Dorel creates style and excitement in equal measure to safety, quality and value. The Company's lifestyle leadership position is pronounced in both its Juvenile and Bicycle categories with an array of trend-setting products.  Dorel's powerfully branded products include Safety 1st, Quinny, Cosco, Maxi-Cosi and Bebe Confort in Juvenile, as well as Cannondale, Schwinn, GT, Mongoose, IronHorse and SUGOI in Recreational/Leisure.  Dorel's Home Furnishings segment markets a wide assortment of furniture products, both domestically produced and imported.   Dorel is a US$2.3 billion company with 4700 employees, facilities in nineteen countries, and sales worldwide. 

SOURCE Dorel Juvenile Group USA