The Middleby Corporation Enters Agreement to Acquire Business of Jade Products Corporation

The Middleby Corporation Acquires Carter Hoffmann

&nbs= p; ELGIN, IL.--(BUSIN= ESS WIRE) -- June 29, 2007 -- The Middleby Corporation (NASDAQ:MIDD) today announced it has acquired the assets of Carter Hoffmann from Carrier Commercial Refrigeration, Inc., a subsidiary of Carrier Corporation, which = is a unit of United Technologies Corporation (NYSE: UTX). The assets of Carter Hoffmann were acquired for $16 million in cash, subject to a post-close working capital adjustment. Carter Hoffmann i= s a leading manufacturer of heated cabinets and holding equipment for the commercial foodservice industry with annual revenues of approximately $20 million. This acquisition add= s to Middleby’s portfolio of leading brands in foodservice equipment.

“This transaction bro= adens Middleby’s portfolio of products in the foodservice equipment industry and provides an entry into the heating and holding equipment segment, a seg= ment that is estimated to have annualized revenues of $150 million,” comme= nted Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Selim A. Bassoul. “Carter Hoffmann is a well recognized brand and long-standing industry leader that has been serving the foodservice industry for 60 years with a broad product portfolio of heated cabinets, rethermalizing equipment, and food serving equipment. We anticipate this acquisition wil= l be accretive to earnings in 2008.”

&nbs= p; Statements in this press release or otherwise attributable to the Company regarding the Company's business which are not historical fact are forward-looking statem= ents made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company cautions investors that such statements are estimates of future performance and are highly dependent upon a variety of important factors th= at could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements. Such factors include variability in financing costs; quarterly variations in operating results; dependence on key customers; international exposure; for= eign exchange and political risks affecting international sales; changing market conditions; the impact of competitive products and pricing; the timely development and market acceptance of the Company's products; the availabili= ty and cost of raw materials; and other risks detailed herein and from time-to= -time in the Company's SEC filings= .

The Middleby Corporation is a global leader in the foodservice equipment indust= ry. The company develops, manufactures, markets and services a broad line of equipment used for commercial food cooking, preparation and processing. The company's leading equipment brands serving the commercial foodservice indus= try include Blodgett®, Blodgett Combi®, Blodgett Range®, Carter Hoffman®= ;, CTX®, Houno®, Jade®, MagiKitch'n®, Middleby Marshall®, Nu-Vu®= , Pitco Frialator®, Southbend®, and Toastmaster®<= /a>. The company’s leading equipment brands serving the food processing industry include Alkar®, MP Equipment®, and RapidPak®. The Middleby Corporation was recogn= ized by Business Week as one of the Top 100 Hot Growth Companies of 2007, by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of the Fastest 50 Growth Companies in 2007, and by Forbes as one of the Best Small Companies in 2006.

Carrier Corporati= on, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), is the world’s largest provider of heating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration solutions.

For more informat= ion about The Middleby Corporation and the company brands, please visit www.middleby.com.

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Co= ntact: &nbs= p; Darcy Bretz, Investor and Public Relations, (847) 429-= 7756

&nbs= p; &= nbsp; Tim Fitzgerald, Chief Financial Officer, (847) 429-77= 44