COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 23, 1999 -- American Electric Power (NYSE:AEP) is inviting industrial customers to participate in a trade and business development mission in Canada. Registrations for the Sept. 13-18 trade mission in Montreal and Quebec City, Canada, will be accepted until May 14. The event is one of several programs offered this year under AEP’s Going GlobalK export assistance program. As part of the program, AEP travels with customers, sets up individual appointments with potential foreign distributors and makes logistical arrangements. For the first time, Going Global customers may participate in two levels -- market research and a trip to Montreal and Quebec City. At the first level, the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service will perform a market study for customers to determine whether the Province of Quebec offers a viable market. If the study results are positive, the participating company will have the option of proceeding to the second level -- traveling to Canada to meet with potential trading partners. Canada is the United States’ largest export market. The Province of Quebec, which imports more U.S. products than France, buys 70 percent of its production equipment from the United States. The joint effort between AEP trade specialists and the U.S. and Foreign Commercial Service in Canada will be the third Canadian trade event for AEP and its customers. “The trade mission offers a relatively hassle-free way for companies to make an on-the-scene survey of the growing Quebec market,” said Christine Sorg, AEP’s international development manager. Theresa Hamm of Hubco Inc. participated last year in a trade mission to Canada. Hamm, whose Wheeling, W.Va.-based company makes aluminum bronze bearings, said the trade mission format was ideal for Hubco. “We like having the people we see interviewed before we meet with them. If these people have already been screened, you’re not wasting their time. You’re dealing with people who absolutely have a need for your product or service,” she said. AEP trade specialists have assisted more than 130 industrial customers at trade events in foreign markets during the past five years and will be available for pre-mission consultations, as well as onsite in Canada. Additional information on the Canadian trade mission and AEP’s Going Global program may be obtained by contacting Sorg at 614/883-7722 or by e-mail at cmsorg@aep.com. AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States' largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.