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EXHIBIT 4.1


ABERDEEN HOURLY SAVINGS & INVESTMENT PLAN

   



Effective November 12, 1999


ABERDEEN HOURLY SAVINGS & INVESTMENT PLAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 
 
 
  Page
PREAMBLE   1

ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

 

2
  1.1 Account   2
  1.2 ACP Contributions   2
  1.3 Actual Deferral Percentage   2
  1.4 ADP Contributions   2
  1.5 Allocation Date   2
  1.6 Allocation Participant   2
  1.7 Allocation Period   2
  1.8 Annual Additions   2
  1.9 Average Actual Deferral Percentage   2
  1.10 Average Contribution Percentage   2
  1.11 Beneficiary   2
  1.12 Benefit Commencement Date   2
  1.13 Board   2
  1.14 Code   2
  1.15 Company   2
  1.16 Compensation   3
  1.17 Contribution Percentage   3
  1.18 Controlled Group   3
  1.19 Defined Benefit Fraction   3
  1.20 Defined Contribution Dollar Limitation   3
  1.21 Defined Contribution Fraction   4
  1.22 Determination Date   4
  1.23 Disabled   4
  1.24 Discretionary Contributions   4
  1.25 Discretionary Contributions Account   4
  1.26 Earliest Retirement Age   4
  1.27 Effective Date   4
  1.28 Election Form   4
  1.29 Election Period   4
  1.30 Elective Contributions   4
  1.31 Elective Contributions Account   4
  1.32 Elective Deferrals   4
  1.33 Eligible Employee   5
  1.34 Eligible Highly Compensated Employee   5
  1.35 Employee   5
  1.36 Employer   5
  1.37 Employment Commencement Date   5
  1.38 ERISA   5
  1.39 Excess Amount   5
  1.40 Excess Deferrals   5
  1.41 Forfeitable Accounts   5
  1.42 Highest Average Compensation   5
  1.43 Highly Compensated Employee   5

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  1.44 Highly Compensated Participant   6
  1.45 Hours of Service   6
  1.46 Investment Fund   8
  1.47 Investment Manager   8
  1.48 Key Employee   8
  1.49 Leased Employee   8
  1.50 Limitation Year   8
  1.51 Matching Contributions   9
  1.52 Matching Contributions Account   9
  1.53 Maximum Permissible Amount   9
  1.54 Nonforfeitable Accounts   9
  1.55 Normal Retirement Age   9
  1.56 Normal Retirement Date   9
  1.57 One-Year Break in Service (or Break in Service)   9
  1.58 Participant   9
  1.59 Permissive Aggregation Group   9
  1.60 Plan   9
  1.61 Plan Year   9
  1.62 Present Value   9
  1.63 Projected Annual Benefit   9
  1.64 Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity   9
  1.65 Qualified Matching Contributions   9
  1.66 Qualified Matching Contributions Account   9
  1.67 Qualified Nonelective Contributions   9
  1.68 Qualified Nonelective Contributions Account   10
  1.69 Qualified Spousal Waiver   10
  1.70 Reemployment Commencement Date   10
  1.71 Required Aggregation Group   10
  1.72 Required Beginning Date   10
  1.73 Rollover Contributions   10
  1.74 Rollover Contributions Account   10
  1.75 Spouse   10
  1.76 Surviving Spouse   10
  1.77 Top-Heavy Plan   10
  1.78 Top-Heavy Ratio   10
  1.79 Trust   10
  1.80 Trust Agreement   10
  1.81 Trust Fund   10
  1.82 Trustee   10
  1.83 Valuation Date   11
  1.84 Vesting Computation Period   11
  1.85 Voluntary Contributions   11
  1.86 Voluntary Contributions Account   11
  1.87 Year of Vesting Service   11

ARTICLE II

ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION

 

12
  2.1 Participation   12
  2.2 Participation for Former Employees   12
  2.3 Transfers to/from Eligible Class   12

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ARTICLE III

CONTRIBUTIONS AND ALLOCATIONS

 

12
  3.1 Employer Contributions   12
  3.2 Employee Contributions   14
  3.3 Time of Payment of Contributions   15
  3.4 Return of Contributions   15
  3.5 Provisions Regarding Elective Contributions   15
  3.6 Provisions Regarding Voluntary Contributions   18
  3.7 Limitation of Elective Deferrals   19
  3.8 Provisions Regarding Matching Contributions   20
  3.9 Limitation of Employee and Employer Matching Contributions   20
  3.10 Corrections Required by Discrimination Tests   21
  3.11 Multiple Use of Alternative Limitation   25
  3.12 Discretionary Cutbacks to Satisfy Discrimination Tests   26
  3.13 Payments to Trustee   26

ARTICLE IV

LIMITATION ON ALLOCATIONS

 

27
  4.1 General Rules   27
  4.2 Transitional Rules   28
  4.3 Applicable Definitions   28
  4.4 Adjustments for Top Heavy Plan   31

ARTICLE V

VESTING IN ACCOUNTS

 

32
  5.1 Vesting of Nonforfeitable Accounts   32
  5.2 Vesting of Forfeitable Accounts   32
  5.3 Forfeitures   33
  5.4 Vesting Upon Termination   33

ARTICLE VI

ACCOUNTS AND INVESTMENTS

 

33
  6.1 Separate Accounts   33
  6.2 Investment of Trust Fund   34
  6.3 Trustee's Reliance   36
  6.4 Voting Common Stock   36
  6.5 Tender Offer for Company Stock   36

ARTICLE VII

ALLOCATION OF EARNINGS AND LOSSES TO ACCOUNTS OF PARTICIPANTS

 

37
  7.1 Allocations of Trust Fund Earnings and Losses   37
  7.2 Transactions Between Valuation Dates   37
  7.3 Allocations Regarding Specific Investments   37

ARTICLE VIII

PAYMENT OF BENEFITS

 

37
  8.1 Time of Payment of Benefits   37
  8.2 Benefits Upon Death   39
  8.3 Form of Payment of Benefits   40
  8.4 Valuation of Accounts for Payments   41
  8.5 Forfeitures   41
  8.6 Code §401(a)(14) Requirement   42
  8.7 Code §411(a)(11) Consent Requirements   42
  8.8 Code §401(k)(2)(B) Restrictions   43
  8.9 Payments to Alternate Payees   43
  8.10 In-Service Withdrawals   44
  8.11 Loan of Account Balances to Participants   44

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  8.12 Code §401(a)(31) Requirement   47

ARTICLE IX

REQUIRED DISTRIBUTIONS

 

49
  9.1 In General   49
  9.2 Code Section 401(a)(9) to Apply   49

ARTICLE X

THE TRUST FUND AND THE TRUSTEE

 

49
  10.1 Existence of Trust   49
  10.2 Exclusive Benefit Rule   49
  10.3 Removal or Resignation of Trustee   49
  10.4 Powers of Trustee   50
  10.5 Integration of Trust Agreement   50
  10.6 Records and Accounts   50
  10.7 Annual Reports   50

ARTICLE XI

ADMINISTRATION

 

50
  11.1 Allocation of Responsibility   50
  11.2 Administrative Expenses   50
  11.3 Director's Powers and Duties   50
  11.4 Records and Reports   50
  11.5 Reporting and Disclosure   50
  11.6 Named Fiduciary   51
  11.7 Administrator   51
  11.8 Interpretation of the Plan and Findings of Facts   51
  11.9 Bonding, Insurance and Indemnity   51
  11.10 Investment Committee   52

ARTICLE XII

AMENDMENT, TERMINATION, MERGER, CONSOLIDATION AND ADOPTION

 

52
  12.1 Permanency of Plan   52
  12.2 Right to Amend Plan   52
  12.3 Right to Terminate Plan   53
  12.4 Termination of Participation in Plan by Employer other than Company   53
  12.5 Merger, Consolidation, or Transfer of Assets   54
  12.6 Adoption of Plan by Aggregated Code §414 Employers   54

ARTICLE XIII

GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

56
  13.1 Participant's Rights to Employment, Etc.   56
  13.2 No Guarantee of Interests   56
  13.3 Standard of Conduct   56
  13.4 Allocation of Duties   56
  13.5 Claims Procedure   56
  13.6 Nonalienation or Assignment; QDRO's   57
  13.7 Plan Continuance Voluntary   58
  13.8 Payments to Minors and Others   59
  13.9 Location of Payee; Unclaimed Benefits   59
  13.10 Governing Law   59
  13.11 Correction of Participants' Accounts   59
  13.12 Action of Employer and Director   59
  13.13 Employer Records   59
  13.14 Fiduciary Indemnification   59
  13.15 Gender and Number   60

iv


  13.16 Headings   60
  13.17 Liability Limited   60
  13.18 Prohibited Discrimination   60
  13.19 Legal References   60
  13.20 Electronic Means of Communication   60
  13.21 Military Service   60
  13.22 Plan Conversions   60

ARTICLE XIV

SPECIAL RULES APPLICABLE TO TOP HEAVY PLAN YEARS

 

61
  14.1 Top-Heavy Provisions   61
  14.2 Top-Heavy Special Definitions   62

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ABERDEEN HOURLY SAVINGS & INVESTMENT PLAN

PREAMBLE

    This Aberdeen Hourly Savings & Investment Plan (the "Plan"), hereby established effective November 12, 1999, is intended to comply with the Tax Reform Act of 1986 and all subsequent applicable rulings and legislation through the date of execution hereof, including the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987, the Technical and Miscellaneous Revenue Act of 1988, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1989, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, the Unemployment Compensation Amendments of 1992, the Revenue Reconciliation Act of 1993, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994, the Small Business Job Protection Act of 1996, the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, and the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998. This Plan, and the Trust which forms a part of the Plan, are intended to be and to remain qualified and exempt from taxation under Sections 401 and 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and shall be interpreted and administered in such manner as shall be necessary to carry out this intention. The Plan is designed to qualify as a profit-sharing plan for purposes of Sections 401(a), 402, 412 and 417 of the Code.

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ARTICLE I

DEFINITIONS

    The following words and phrases as used in this Plan shall have the meanings set forth in this Article unless a different meaning is clearly required by the context:

    1.1  Account  shall mean a separate account which is established and maintained for a Participant (or his Beneficiary) and to which contributions made under this Plan which are allocated to such Participant, if any, and earnings or losses thereon, if any, shall be credited.

    1.2  ACP Contributions.  See Section 3.9(b)(iii) of this Plan.

    1.3  Actual Deferral Percentage.  See Section 3.7(b)(ii) of this Plan.

    1.4  ADP Contributions.  See Section 3.7(b)(iii) of this Plan.

    1.5  Allocation Date  shall mean the last day of each calendar month.

    1.6  Allocation Participant  shall, for an Allocation Period, mean those Participants (a)(i) who have completed at least one (1) Hour of Service in such Allocation Period, and (ii) who are employed by the Employer as an Eligible Employee on the last day of such Allocation Period, or (b) whose employment with an Employer terminates during such Allocation Period by reason of the Participant's death or becoming Disabled, or whose employment with an Employer terminates during such Allocation Period after the Participant has attained age 55 and completed 10 Years of Vesting Service.

    1.7  Allocation Period  shall mean the period beginning on the day following an Allocation Date and ending on the immediately succeeding Allocation Date.

    1.8  Annual Additions.  See Section 4.3(a) of this Plan.

    1.9  Average Actual Deferral Percentage.  See Section 3.7(b)(i) of this Plan.

    1.10  Average Contribution Percentage.  See Section 3.9(b)(i) of this Plan.

    1.11  Beneficiary  shall mean any person or persons, including a trust for the benefit of individuals, last designated in writing by a Participant pursuant to the provisions and conditions of Section 8.2(c), who is or may become entitled to a benefit hereunder. If, at any time, no Beneficiary has been validly designated by the Participant, or the Beneficiary validly designated by the Participant is no longer living or no longer exists, whichever is applicable, then the Participant's Beneficiary shall be deemed to be the person or persons (per stirpes) in the first of the following classes of beneficiaries with one or more members of such class surviving or in existence as of the Participant's death, and in the absence thereof, the Participant's estate:

    1.12  Benefit Commencement Date  means, with respect to a payee, the first day on which all events have occurred which entitle the payee to such benefit, in accordance with Treas. Reg. §1.401(a)-20(Q&A-10)(b)(1) and Code §417(f)(2) and determined pursuant to the provisions of Article VIII herein.

    1.13  Board  means the Board of Directors of the Plan Sponsor.

    1.14  Code  shall mean the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as the same may be amended from time to time.

    1.15  Company  shall mean Georgia Gulf Corporation, its successors and assigns, and any other corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship into which the Company may be merged or consolidated

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or to which all or substantially all of its assets may be transferred unless such organization indicates in writing that it does not approve of such automatic succession.

    1.16  Compensation.  

    1.17  Contribution Percentage.  See Section 3.9(b)(ii) of this Plan.

    1.18  Controlled Group  shall mean the Company and any other entity which is required to be aggregated with the Company pursuant to Code §§414(b), (c), (m) or (o).

    1.19  Defined Benefit Fraction.  See Section 4.3(c) of this Plan.

    1.20  Defined Contribution Dollar Limitation.  See Section 4.3(d) of this Plan.

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    1.21  Defined Contribution Fraction.  See Section 4.3(e) of this Plan.

    1.22  Determination Date.  See Section 14.2(d) of this Plan.

    1.23  Disabled  shall mean, when used to describe a Participant, a Participant who terminates his employment with the Employer as a result of an illness, injury or other condition which makes that Participant eligible to receive benefits under the Comprehensive Disability Income Plan (or any similar plan) or which would make such Participant so eligible if he participated in such plan.

    1.24  Discretionary Contributions  shall mean Employer contributions, if any, made to this Plan pursuant to Section 3.1(a)(i) of this Plan and allocated to Participants pursuant to Section 3.1(a)(ii) of this Plan.

    1.25  Discretionary Contributions Account  shall mean the Account of a Participant to which are credited any Discretionary Contributions allocated to the Participant in a given Plan Year under Section 3.1(a) of this Plan.

    1.26  Earliest Retirement Age  shall mean, with respect to a Participant, the Participant's age on the earliest date on which, under the Plan, the Participant could separate from service and elect to receive a distribution, pursuant to Treas. Reg. §1.401(a)-20(Q&A-17)(b).

    1.27  Effective Date  shall mean the day on which this Plan becomes effective, except as may be otherwise noted herein.

    1.28  Election Form  shall mean the form provided by the Director for an Eligible Employee to elect to make Voluntary Contributions pursuant to the provisions of Section 3.2 of this Plan or to have the Employer make Elective Contributions on behalf of such Employee pursuant to the provisions of Section 3.5 of this Plan.

    1.29  Election Period  shall mean each calendar month.

    1.30  Elective Contributions  shall mean Employer contributions, if any, made to this Plan pursuant to Section 3.1(b) of this Plan that were subject to a cash or deferred election under which, pursuant to Section 3.5 of this Plan, an Eligible Employee could elect to have the Employer either contribute an amount to this Plan or provide such amount to the Eligible Employee in cash or in the form of some other taxable benefit. Elective Contributions shall be allocated to Eligible Employees pursuant to Section 3.1(b)(ii) of this Plan.

    1.31  Elective Contributions Account  shall mean the Account of a Participant to which are credited any Elective Contributions allocated to the Participant each Plan Year under Section 3.1(b) of this Plan.

    1.32  Elective Deferrals  shall mean:

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    1.33  Eligible Employee.  

    1.34  Eligible Highly Compensated Employee  shall mean an Eligible Employee who is also a Highly Compensated Employee.

    1.35  Employee  shall mean a person who performs services for a member of the Controlled Group and who is a common law employee of such Controlled Group member. The term Employee shall (i) also include any Leased Employee of a Controlled Group member as provided in Code §§414 (n) or (o), but shall (ii) exclude any individual who provides services to the Controlled Group member pursuant to a contractual arrangement with another entity, but who is not deemed to constitute a Leased Employee.

    1.36  Employer  shall mean the Company and each member of the Controlled Group which has adopted this Plan pursuant to Section 12.6 herein. See also Section 4.3(f) for a special definition applicable in Article IV.

    1.37  Employment Commencement Date  shall mean the date on which an Employee first performs an Hour of Service (as defined in subsection (a) of Section 1.45) for any member of the Controlled Group.

    1.38  ERISA  shall mean the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as the same may be amended from time to time.

    1.39  Excess Amount.  See Section 4.3(g) of this Plan.

    1.40  Excess Deferrals  shall mean Elective Deferrals made by a Participant for a calendar year in excess of the maximum amount specified in Code §402(b)(1), as adjusted pursuant to Code §§402(g)(4) and (5), applicable for such calendar year.

    1.41  Forfeitable Accounts  shall mean a Participant's Discretionary Contributions Account and Matching Contributions Account.

    1.42  Highest Average Compensation.  See Section 4.3(h) of this Plan.

    1.43  Highly Compensated Employee  shall mean the following:

5


    1.44  Highly Compensated Participant  shall mean a Participant who is a Highly Compensated Employee.

    1.45  Hours of Service  shall mean those hours calculated in accordance with the following provisions:

6


7


    1.46  Investment Fund  shall mean the Loan Fund and such other funds as are established within the Trust Fund from time to time at the direction of the Plan Sponsor in accordance with Section 6.2(c)(i) for the investment of the assets held under the Trust Fund.

    1.47  Investment Manager  shall mean any person who satisfies the definition of an "investment manager" under ERISA §3(38) and who is appointed as such by the Investment Committee to direct the investment of one, or more than one, Investment Fund.

    1.48  Key Employee.  See Section 14.2(f) of this Plan.

    1.49  Leased Employee.  

    1.50  Limitation Year.  See Section 4.3(i) of this Plan.

8


    1.51  Matching Contributions  shall mean Employer contributions, if any, made to this Plan pursuant to Section 3.1(e)(i) of this Plan and allocated to all Participants pursuant to Section 3.1(e)(ii) of this Plan.

    1.52  Matching Contributions Account  shall mean the Account of a Participant to which are credited any Matching Contributions allocated to the Participant under Section 3.1(e) of this Plan.

    1.53  Maximum Permissible Amount.  See Section 4.3(j) of this Plan.

    1.54  Nonforfeitable Accounts  shall mean a Participant's Elective Contributions Account, Voluntary Contributions Account, Qualified Nonelective Contributions Account, Qualified Matching Contributions Account and Rollover Contributions Account.

    1.55  Normal Retirement Age  shall mean age 65.

    1.56  Normal Retirement Date  shall mean the first day of the calendar month following the date the Participant attains his Normal Retirement Age.

    1.57  One-Year Break in Service (or Break in Service)  shall mean the Vesting Computation Period during which the Employee does not complete more than 500 Hours of Service with the Employer.

    1.58  Participant  shall mean an Eligible Employee who has met the requirements of Article II for participation in this Plan and who is potentially eligible to receive a benefit of any type from this Plan or whose Beneficiaries are potentially eligible to receive a benefit of any type from this Plan, or a former Employee who retains any Account balance in this Plan. An Eligible Employee who makes one or more Rollover Contributions to this Plan pursuant to Section 3.2(c) shall be considered a Participant solely to the extent of such contributions and any earnings thereon.

    1.59  Permissive Aggregation Group.  See Section 14.2(b) of this Plan.

    1.60  Plan  shall mean this Aberdeen Hourly Savings & Investment Plan, and all amendments to such plan made from time to time. This Plan is intended to be a profit sharing plan within the meaning of Code §401(a) and Treas. Reg. §1.401-1 under which contributions shall be made without regard to current or accumulated profits as permitted by Code §401(a)(27)(A).

    1.61  Plan Year  shall mean the 12 consecutive month period for keeping the books and records of the Plan, which shall be coincident with the calendar year; provided, however, that the first Plan Year shall begin on the Effective Date and end on December 31, 1999.

    1.62  Present Value.  See Section 14.2(e) of this Plan.

    1.63  Projected Annual Benefit.  See Section 4.3(k) of this Plan.

    1.64  Qualified Joint and Survivor Annuity  shall mean an annuity for the life of the Participant with a survivor annuity for the life of the Participant's Surviving Spouse (if any), under which the Surviving Spouse's monthly benefit is not less than 50% and not more than 100% of the amount of the Participant's monthly benefit.

    1.65  Qualified Matching Contributions  shall mean Employer contributions, if any, made to this Plan pursuant to Section 3.1(d)(i) of this Plan and allocated to a certain group of Eligible Employees pursuant to Section 3.1(d)(ii) of this Plan.

    1.66  Qualified Matching Contributions Account  shall mean the Account of a Participant to which are credited any Qualified Matching Contributions allocated to the Participant each Plan Year under Section 3.1(d) of this Plan.

    1.67  Qualified Nonelective Contributions  shall mean Employer contributions, if any, made to this Plan pursuant to Section 3.1(c)(i) of this Plan and allocated to a certain group of Eligible Employees pursuant to Section 3.1(c)(ii) of this Plan.

9


    1.68  Qualified Nonelective Contributions Account  shall mean the Account of a Participant to which are credited any Qualified Nonelective Contributions allocated to the Participant in a given Plan Year under Section 3.1(c) of this Plan.

    1.69  Qualified Spousal Waiver  shall mean a Participant's written election, delivered to the Director, signed by the Participant's Spouse, and witnessed by a notary public or an authorized Plan representative, which consents to the payment of all or a specified part of the Participant's benefit to a named Beneficiary other than the Participant's Spouse. Such election may not be changed without Spousal consent (unless the consent expressly permits designations by the Participant without further consent of the Spouse). A Participant (but not the Participant's Spouse) may, however, revoke a Qualified Spousal Waiver at any time prior to his Benefit Commencement Date by way of a written signed statement to the Director and a Qualified Spousal Waiver shall not be effective at any time following delivery of such a revocation to the Director provided that such revocation is received by the Director prior to the Participant's Benefit Commencement Date. If a Participant revokes a Qualified Spousal Waiver, the Participant's benefits shall be payable under the terms and provisions of this Plan as if no Qualified Spousal Waiver had ever been in existence.

    1.70  Reemployment Commencement Date  shall mean the first date following an Employee's termination of employment on which the Employee performs an Hour of Service for the Employer.

    1.71  Required Aggregation Group.  See Section 14.2(c) of this Plan.

    1.72  Required Beginning Date.  See Section 9.7(a) of this Plan.

    1.73  Rollover Contributions  shall mean cash contributions, if any, made by an Eligible Employee to the Plan which qualify as a "rollover contribution" within the meaning of Code §§402(a)(5)(for distributions on or before December 31, 1992), 402(c)(5)(for distributions after December 31, 1992), 403(a)(4) or 408(d)(3). The term "Rollover Contributions" shall also include direct transfers from a custodian or trustee of a profit sharing, stock bonus or pension trust described in Code §401(a), or an individual retirement account described in Code §408(a), provided that the requirements of Section 12.5 are satisfied.

    1.74  Rollover Contributions Account  shall mean the Account of a Participant to which are credited the Rollover Contributions made by the Participant in a given Plan Year pursuant to Section 3.2(e) of this Plan.

    1.75  Spouse  shall mean the legally recognized spouse of a Participant determined as of the Participant's Benefit Commencement Date, or, if earlier, determined as of the Participant's date of death.

    1.76  Surviving Spouse  shall mean the surviving Spouse of a deceased Participant. To the extent required by a qualified domestic relations order, an alternate payee under such order shall be treated as the Surviving Spouse of a deceased Participant. See Section 13.6 herein.

    1.77  Top-Heavy Plan.  See Section 14.2(g) of this Plan.

    1.78  Top-Heavy Ratio.  See Section 14.2(a) of this Plan.

    1.79  Trust  shall mean the trust accompanying the Plan hereby created.

    1.80  Trust Agreement  shall mean the agreement between the Trustee and the Company creating the Trust accompanying the Plan.

    1.81  Trust Fund  shall mean the assets of the Trust held by the Trustee pursuant to the provisions of the Trust Agreement and the Plan.

    1.82  Trustee  shall mean the entity, person or persons who have entered into the Trust Agreement with the Company to act as trustee(s) of the assets of the Plan.

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    1.83  Valuation Date  shall mean each day of the Plan Year as of which Plan assets held in the Trust and the Account balances of Participants shall be valued by the Trustee. The Valuation Dates of the Plan shall be each day on which the United States financial markets are open for business.

    1.84  Vesting Computation Period  shall mean, for purposes of determining Years of Vesting Service and One-Year Breaks in Service for vesting, the following:

    1.85  Voluntary Contributions  shall mean voluntary after-tax Participant contributions, if any, made to this Plan pursuant to Section 3.2(b) of this Plan, and, if applicable, those excess contributions of a Highly Compensated Employee which are recharacterized as deemed Voluntary Contributions by the Director pursuant to Section 3.10(b) of this Plan.

    1.86  Voluntary Contributions Account  shall mean the Account of a Participant to which are credited the Participant's Voluntary Contributions, if any, for a given Plan Year pursuant to Section 3.2(b) of this Plan.

    1.87  Year of Vesting Service.  

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ARTICLE II

ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION

    2.1  Participation.  Subject to the special rules of Sections 2.2 and 2.3 below, each Eligible Employee employed by an Employer shall become a Participant hereunder on the first day of the calendar month coincident with or immediately following the later of (i) the Effective Date or (ii) the employee's Employment Commencement Date, provided such Employee is still in the service of an Employer as an Eligible Employee on such date.

    2.2  Participation for Former Employees.  Any former Employee who terminated employment may, upon being rehired by the Employer as an Eligible Employee, commence Participation and shall become a Participant in accordance with Section 2.1 above.

    2.3  Transfers to/from Eligible Class.  


ARTICLE III

CONTRIBUTIONS AND ALLOCATIONS

    3.1  Employer Contributions.  The Employer shall make contributions to the Plan (all of which are hereby expressly conditioned on their deductibility under Code §404) by making cash payments (or payments of property acceptable to the Trustee if such payments (i) are purely voluntary, (ii) do not relieve the Employer of an obligation to make contributions to this Plan, and (iii) do not constitute

12


prohibited exchanges under ERISA §406(a)(1)(A)) to the Trustee in one or more of the following methods:

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In no event shall the aggregate contributions made by the Employer under this Section exceed the amount deductible for federal income tax purposes under Code §404. All allocations to be made under this Section shall be subject to the provisions of Section 14.1(a) of this Plan, if applicable, and Article IV.

    3.2  Employee Contributions.  

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The Director shall have the right to reject any Rollover Contribution which it determines in its sole judgment does not qualify under the above-referenced statutes and laws. Any Rollover Contributions accepted by the Director shall be promptly remitted to the Trustee to be held in a Rollover Contribution Account for the Eligible Employee's sole benefit, and shall be nonforfeitable at all times, but otherwise subject to all of the terms and provisions of this Plan. Rollover Contributions shall only be accepted as of a Valuation Date.

    3.3  Time of Payment of Contributions.  Employer contributions made under Sections 3.1(a) through (e) of this Plan shall be made for each Plan Year within the time prescribed by law (including extensions thereof) for filing the Employer's federal income tax return for the Employer's taxable year ending with or within the Plan Year. Employer contributions made under Sections 3.1(b) through (e) of this Plan shall actually be paid to the Trustee no later than the end of the 12-month period immediately following the Plan Year to which such contributions relate. Employer contributions shall be promptly remitted to the Trustee and, in the case of Employer contributions under Section 3.1(b) of this Plan and Employee contributions under Sections 3.2(b) and (c) of this Plan, shall be remitted to the Trustee as of the earliest date on which such amounts can reasonably be segregated from the Employer's general assets in accordance with Department of Labor Reg. §2510.3-102(a).

    3.4  Return of Contributions.  All contributions made to the Trustee shall be irrevocable except as follows:

    3.5  Provisions Regarding Elective Contributions.  

15


16


income or loss   =   ( 1 + M
)   ×   ( E
)   ×   I
        10       D        

17


    3.6  Provisions Regarding Voluntary Contributions.  

18


    3.7  Limitation of Elective Deferrals.  

19


    3.8  Provisions Regarding Matching Contributions.  

    3.9  Limitation of Employee and Employer Matching Contributions.  

20


    3.10  Corrections Required by Discrimination Tests.  If the Deferral Percentage Test of Section 3.7 of this Plan, the Contribution Percentage Test of Section 3.9 of this Plan and/or the special limitation of Section 3.11 of this Plan are applicable to this Plan and are not satisfied for a Plan Year, the Director,

21


in its discretion, may use any combination of the methods in subsections (a) and (b) below to satisfy any one or more of these tests or limitations, except as otherwise provided below:

income or loss   =   ( 1 + M
)   ×   ( E
)   ×   I
        10       D        

22


23


24


    3.11  Multiple Use of Alternative Limitation.  The provisions of this Section shall only apply if one or more Highly Compensated Employees of the Employer are Eligible Employees with respect to both a cash or deferred arrangement (including this Plan) subject to Code §401(k) and a plan of the Employer (including this Plan) subject to Code §401(m), and shall apply only for Plan Years beginning on or after January 1,1989. Furthermore, for this Section to apply, the Average Actual Deferral Percentage for the Eligible Highly Compensated Employees during the Plan Year must be greater than 125% of the Average Actual Deferral Percentage for the prior Plan Year for the Eligible Employees who are not Highly Compensated Employees, and the Average Contribution Percentage for the Prior Plan Year for the Eligible Highly Compensated Employees during the Plan Year must be greater than 125% of the Average Contribution Percentage for the prior Plan Year for the Eligible Employees who are not Highly Compensated Employees.

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    3.12  Discretionary Cutbacks to Satisfy Discrimination Tests.  In addition to those powers granted the Director elsewhere herein, the Director shall have the power to reduce the Elective Contribution election and/or Voluntary Contribution election of any Highly Compensated Participant at any time during a Plan Year if the Director, in his sole discretion and based on current contribution data available, determines that the Deferral Percentage Test of Section 3.7 of this Plan, the Contribution Percentage Test of Section 3.9 of this Plan, and/or the special limitation of Section 3.11 of this Plan for such Plan Year may not be satisfied. Any such reductions shall be made to the extent necessary in the opinion of the Director to satisfy the Deferral Percentage Test, the Contribution Percentage Test, and/or the special limitation, whichever is applicable, and shall be made by reducing the Elective Contribution election and/or the Voluntary Contribution election of Highly Compensated Participants.

    3.13  Payments to Trustee.  Elective Contributions and Voluntary Contributions made by or for a Participant shall be transmitted by his Employer to the Trustee as soon as practicable, but in any event not later than 15 days after the end of the calendar month in which such Contributions are withheld or would otherwise have been paid to the Participant.

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ARTICLE IV

LIMITATION ON ALLOCATIONS

    4.1  General Rules.  

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    4.2  Transitional Rules.  Notwithstanding the foregoing limitations above, such limitations shall be adjusted in accordance with Notice 87-21, 1987-1 C.B. 458, and any other guidance or regulations issued under Section 1106(i)(3) or (4) of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, as amended, so that a Participant described in Section 1106(i)(3)(A) of said Act shall not lose any "current accrued benefit" (as defined in Section 1106(i)(3)(B)(i) of said Act), and so that the sum of a Participant's Defined Benefit Fraction and Defined Contribution Fraction shall not exceed 1.0 for the Plan Year beginning before January 1, 1987 if this Plan satisfied the requirements of Code §415 for such Plan Year.

    4.3  Applicable Definitions.  For purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

28


29


30


    4.4  Adjustments for Top Heavy Plan.  For purposes of computing the Defined Benefit Plan Fraction and the Defined Contribution Plan Fraction, the 125% factor in subsections (c)(i) and (e)(i) of Section 4.3 shall be decreased to 100% if:

For purposes of this Section, the Plan is "Super Top-Heavy" if it would continue to be Top-Heavy if the 60% tests in the definition of Top-Heavy in Section 14.2(g) herein were changed to 90% tests.

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ARTICLE V

VESTING IN ACCOUNTS

    5.1  Vesting of Nonforfeitable Accounts.  All amounts allocated to a Participant's Elective Contributions Account, Voluntary Contributions Account, Qualified Nonelective Contributions Account, Qualified Matching Contributions Account or Rollover Contributions Account (a Participant's "Nonforfeitable Accounts") shall at all times be and remain 100% vested and nonforfeitable.

    5.2  Vesting of Forfeitable Accounts.  All amounts allocated to a Participant's Discretionary Contributions Account and Matching Contributions Account (a Participant's "Forfeitable Accounts") shall vest in accordance with the following rules:

Years of Vesting Service
Earned by the Participant

  Vested Percentage of the
Participant in such Account

Less than 1 Year   0%
1 Year   0%
2 Years   0%
3 Years   0%
4 Years   0%
5 or more Years   100%

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X = P (AB + (R x D)) - (R x D)

    5.3  Forfeitures.  Amounts in a Participant's Forfeitable Accounts which are not vested pursuant to the provisions of this Article may be forfeited by a Participant pursuant to the provisions of Sections 3.5(f), 3.10(c), 3.10(d)(iv) and 8.5(a) of this Plan.

    5.4  Vesting Upon Termination.  If, pursuant to Article XII of this Plan, this Plan is wholly or partially terminated or there is a complete discontinuance of contributions, the rights of each "affected" Participant to his Forfeitable Accounts as of the date of such termination or partial termination or complete discontinuance of contributions shall be fully vested to the extent funded notwithstanding any other provision of this Article to the contrary. See Section 12.3(a)  herein.


ARTICLE VI

ACCOUNTS AND INVESTMENTS

    6.1  Separate Accounts.  The Director shall maintain separate Accounts for each Participant to reflect each such Participant's interest in the Plan attributable to each of the following:

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    6.2  Investment of Trust Fund.  

34


35


    6.3  Trustee's Reliance.  The Trustee may rely and act upon any certificate, notice or direction of the Employer, Director, Investment Manager, Participant or Beneficiary, or a person authorized to act on behalf of such person, that the Trustee reasonably believes to be genuine and to have been signed by the person or persons duly authorized to sign such certificate, notice or direction. The Trustee may continue to rely upon such certificate, notice or direction until otherwise notified in writing.

    6.4  Voting Common Stock.  Before each annual or special meeting of its shareholders, the Company shall cause to be sent to each Participant and Beneficiary who has all or a portion of his Account invested in the Georgia Gulf Corporation Common Stock Fund on the record date of such meeting a copy of the proxy solicitation material therefor, together with a form requesting confidential instructions on how to vote the shares of Company Stock allocated to his Account. Upon receipt of such instructions, the Trustee shall vote the shares allocated to such Participant's or Beneficiary's Accounts as instructed. The Trustee shall not vote allocated shares of Company Stock for which it does not receive instructions. A Participant's right to instruct the Trustee with respect to voting shares of Company Stock will include rights concerning (i) the exercise of any appraisal rights, dissenters' rights or similar rights granted by applicable law to the registered or beneficial holders of Company Stock or (ii) the choice of consideration to be received by shareholders in any transaction involving Company Stock.

    6.5  Tender Offer for Company Stock.  In the event of a tender offer for shares of Company Stock subject to Section 14(d)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 or subject to Rule 13e-4 promulgated under that Act (as those provisions may from time to time be amended or replaced by successor provisions of federal securities laws), the Investment Committee will advise each Participant or Beneficiary who has shares of Company Stock credited to his Account in writing of the terms of the tender offer as soon as practicable after its commencement and will furnish each Participant or Beneficiary with a form by which he may instruct the Trustee confidentially to tender shares credited to his Account. The Trustee will tender those shares it has been properly instructed to tender, and will not tender those shares which it has been properly instructed not to tender or for which no instructions are properly received. The Investment Committee's advice to Participants will include notice that allocated shares for which no instructions are received will not be tendered and such related documents as are prepared by any person and provided to the shareholders of the Company pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Investment Committee may also provide Participants with such other materials concerning the tender offer as the Investment Committee in its discretion determines to be appropriate. A Participant's instructions to the Trustee to tender shares will not be deemed a withdrawal or suspension from the Plan or a forfeiture of any portion of the Participant's interest in the Plan. The number of shares to which a Participant's instructions apply will be the total number of shares credited to his Account, whether or not the shares are vested, as of the close of business on the day preceding the date on which the tender offer commences. The Investment Committee will advise the Trustee of the commencement date of any tender offer and, until receipt of that advice, the Trustee will not be obligated to take any action under this Section. Funds received in exchange for tendered stock will be credited to the Account of the Participant whose stock was tendered and shall, at the direction of the Investment Committee, be used by the Trustee to purchase Company Stock, if available on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market, commencing on the earlier of the following dates: (1) the trading day following the first date on which the closing price of the Company Stock on a national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market on which the Company Stock is then traded is within 20% of the closing price on the tenth trading day preceding the commencement date of the tender offer or (2) the 30th trading day after the expiration date of the tender offer, of which the Investment Committee will advise the Trustee. In the interim, the Trustee shall invest such funds in short term investments permitted under the Trust Agreement.

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ARTICLE VII

ALLOCATION OF EARNINGS AND LOSSES TO ACCOUNTS OF PARTICIPANTS

    7.1  Allocations of Trust Fund Earnings and Losses.  As of each Valuation Date, the Trustee shall determine the fair market value of the investments of the Trust Fund established under Section 6.2(a) of this Plan, and shall determine the gain or loss experienced by such investments since the immediately preceding Valuation Date. Each Participant's Account or portion thereof which has not been separately invested in a Fund under Section 6.2(c) of this Plan or in investments selected by the Participant under Section 6.2(d) of this Plan shall be credited with a percentage of such gain or debited with a percentage of such loss by multiplying the aggregate gain or loss of the investments of the Trust Fund by a fraction, the numerator of which for each Participant is the value of the Participant's interest in the investments of the Trust Fund as of the immediately preceding Valuation Date, increased by any contributions or loan repayments by or on behalf of the Participant since the last Valuation Date and reduced by any distribution of loan principal or any hardship distribution or withdrawal made to the Participant since the last Valuation Date and the denominator of which is the sum of the numerator amounts (as so adjusted) for all Participants.

    7.2  Transactions Between Valuation Dates.  Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding Subsection, the Trustee or the Director may adopt procedures for equitably allocating earnings and losses that take into account the period of time that a contribution, distribution, withdrawal, loan repayment or loan distribution which is made between successive Valuation Dates is held by the Fund. Any such procedures adopted by the Trustee or Director shall supersede any inconsistent provision of the preceding Section of this Plan and shall be effective without the necessity of amending this Plan. Such procedures shall be communicated to Employees.

    7.3  Allocations Regarding Specific Investments.  Notwithstanding any provisions of Section 7.1 of this Article to the contrary, if an Account or any portion thereof is invested in a specific Fund or investment pursuant to Sections 6.2 of this Plan, such Account or portion thereof shall not share in gains or losses of other Trust Fund investments, but shall be credited with gain or debited with loss in accordance with the proportionate amount of gain or loss of such specified Fund or investment, determined in accordance with the valuation procedures described in Section 7.1 of this Article as of each Valuation Date.


ARTICLE VIII

PAYMENT OF BENEFITS

    8.1  Time of Payment of Benefits.  If a Participant's employment with all members of the Controlled Group is terminated for any reason other than death, including becoming Disabled, retiring, or otherwise, the Participant shall receive or commence receiving the entire vested amount in his Plan Accounts (his "Benefit Amount") determined pursuant to the provisions of Section 8.4 in accordance with the following:

37


38


    8.2  Benefits Upon Death.  

39


    8.3  Form of Payment of Benefits.  

40


    8.4  Valuation of Accounts for Payments.  

    8.5  Forfeitures.  

41


    8.6  Code §401(a)(14) Requirement.  Unless a Participant consents to later payment, the payment of benefits under the Plan to the Participant shall begin not later than the 60th day after the close of the Plan Year in which the latest of the following events occurs:

The failure of a Participant to consent to a distribution when such consent is required under Section 8.7 shall be deemed to be an election to defer commencement of payment for purposes of this Section 8.6.

    8.7  Code §411(a)(11) Consent Requirements.  

42


    8.8  Code §401(k)(2)(B) Restrictions.  Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 8.8 to the contrary, a Participant's Elective Contributions Account shall not be distributed prior to:

For purposes of subsections (e) and (f) above, the selling corporation must maintain this Plan after the sale or other disposition, the Participant must continue employment with the asset purchaser or subsidiary (as applicable), and, for purposes of subsections (d), (e) and (f) above, the distribution must be a lump sum distribution meeting the requirements of Treas. Reg. §1.401(k)-1(d)(5). The provisions of this Section shall be interpreted in accordance with the requirements of Code §401(k)(2)(B) and any regulations promulgated thereunder.

    8.9  Payments to Alternate Payees.  See Section 13.6(b)(iii) for special provisions which are applicable to payments to an alternate payee under a qualified domestic relations order. A qualified domestic

43


relations order may not provide an alternate payee with a death benefit from this Plan except to the extent consistent with Section 8.2 and, if applicable, except to the extent such order requires that the alternate payee be treated as the Participant's Surviving Spouse.

    8.10  In-Service Withdrawals.  

    8.11  Loan of Account Balances to Participants.  

44


45


46


    Any such administrative procedures shall be set forth in writing and communicated to Participants and Beneficiaries.

    8.12  Code §401(a)(31) Requirement.  

47


48



ARTICLE IX

REQUIRED DISTRIBUTIONS

    9.1  In General.  Notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, to the extent required under Code §401(a)(9), the entire vested account balance of a Participant who is a 5% owner (as defined in Code §416) or who attains age 701/2 prior to January 1, 2000 (a) shall be distributed to him in a lump sum in cash not later than April 1 of the calendar year following the calendar year in which he attains age 701/2 and, with respect to such Participants who are Employees, on December 31 of such year and each succeeding year or (b) shall commence to be distributed to him in one of the forms permitted under Section 8.3 not later than the time specified in clause (a) of this paragraph. In addition, the vested account balance of any other Participant must be distributed or commence to be distributed not later than the April 1 of the calendar year following the later of (i) the calendar year in which he attains age 701/2 or (ii) the calendar year in which he incurs a termination of employment.

    9.2  Code Section 401(a)(9) to Apply.  Notwithstanding the foregoing, distributions under this Article IX shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Code §401(a)(9) and Treasury Regulations issued thereunder, including Treas. Reg. §1.401(a)(9)-2, which provisions are hereby incorporated herein by reference, provided that such provisions shall override the other distribution provisions of the Plan only to the extent that such other Plan provisions provide for distribution that is less rapid than required under such provisions of the Code and Regulations. Nothing contained in this Article IX shall be construed as providing any optional form of payment that is not available under the other distribution provisions of the Plan.


ARTICLE X

THE TRUST FUND AND THE TRUSTEE

    10.1  Existence of Trust.  The Company has entered into the Trust Agreement with the Trustee designated by the Company on the Trust Agreement to hold the funds necessary to provide the benefits set forth in this Plan.

    10.2  Exclusive Benefit Rule.  The Trust Fund shall be received, held in trust, and disbursed by the Trustee in accordance with the provisions of the Trust Agreement and this Plan. No part of the Trust Fund shall be used for or diverted to purposes other than for the exclusive benefit of Participants and their Beneficiaries and the payment of reasonable expenses attributable to the administration of the Plan in accordance with ERISA §404(a)(1)(A)(ii). For purposes of the preceding sentence, the use of the Trust Fund to pay fees and expenses incurred in connection with the provision of services is not a reasonable expense of administering the Plan if the payments are made for the Employer's benefit or involve services for which the Employer could reasonably be expected to bear the cost in the normal course of such Employer's business or operations. In this regard, services provided in conjunction with the establishment, termination or design of plans relate to the business activities of the Employer and generally would not be "reasonable expenses attributable to the administration of the Plan." No person shall have any interest in, or right to, the Trust Fund or any part thereof, except as specifically provided for in this Plan or the Trust Agreement, except as provided in Section 3.4 (Return of Contributions). Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Section, this Section shall be construed in accordance with the requirements of Code §401(a)(2) and ERISA §403(c) and any regulations or other guidance promulgated thereunder, and shall not be construed in a manner more restrictive than such requirements.

    10.3  Removal or Resignation of Trustee.  The Company may remove the Trustee at any time or the Trustee may resign at any time upon the notice required by the terms of the Trust Agreement, and upon such removal or upon the resignation of a Trustee, the Company shall appoint a successor Trustee.

49


    10.4  Powers of Trustee.  The Trustee shall have the power to hold, invest, reinvest, or to control and disburse the Trust Funds in accordance with the provisions of the Trust Agreement and Article VI of this Plan (Accounts and Investments).

    10.5  Integration of Trust Agreement.  The Trust Agreement shall be deemed to be a part of this Plan, and all rights of Participants or others under this Plan shall be subject to the provisions of the Trust Agreement.

    10.6  Records and Accounts.  The Trustee shall maintain accurate and detailed records and accounts of all transactions of the Plan, which shall be available at all reasonable times for inspection or audit by any person designated by the Employer, Director and by any other person or entity to the extent required by law.

    10.7  Annual Reports.  As soon as practicable following the close of the Plan Year, the Trustee shall file with the Director and the Employer a written report setting forth all transactions with respect to the Trust Fund during such Plan Year and listing the assets of the Trust Fund and the market value thereof at the close of the period covered by such report. The Trustee shall also provide the Director and the Employer with such other information in its possession as may be necessary for the Director or Employer to conform with the requirements of ERISA §103.


ARTICLE XI

ADMINISTRATION

    11.1  Allocation of Responsibility.  The general administration of the Plan and the responsibility for carrying out the provisions thereof will be placed in the Director of Human Resources ("Director") of the Company. In the absence of such a Director, the Company shall carry out the responsibilities of the Director.

    11.2  Administrative Expenses.  The Director may employ financial, legal, or other counsel and engage such clerical, financial, or other services as he may deem necessary for the effective administration of the Plan and compliance with Federal and state regulations. Said operating expenses and any other reasonable administrative expenses will be paid out of the Trust Fund to the extent possible consistent with Section 10.2 herein (Exclusive Benefit Rule), unless the Company elects (in its sole discretion) to pay such expenses.

    11.3  Director's Powers and Duties.  The Director shall have the power to interpret and construe the Plan, to settle all questions arising from the operation of the Plan, to determine all questions of eligibility and the status and rights of Participants, Beneficiaries and others, and to establish rules for the administration of the Plan and the transaction of its business. Final determinations or actions of the Director with respect to any questions arising out of or in connection with the administration of the Plan will be final and conclusive and binding upon all persons having an interest in the Plan. The Director may delegate to other persons all or such portion of his duties hereunder, other than those granted to the Trustee under the Trust Agreement, as the Director, in his sole discretion, may decide.

    11.4  Records and Reports.  The Director will keep such accounts and records as he may deem necessary or proper in the performance of his duties under the Plan.

    11.5  Reporting and Disclosure.  The Director shall file all reports and returns required to be filed by the Plan (other than those which are the responsibility of the Trustee) with any governmental agency, shall make all disclosures to Employees, Participants and Beneficiaries, and shall make available for examination by said persons copies of all Plan documents, descriptions, returns and reports as may be required by applicable law or as specified herein.

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    11.6  Named Fiduciary.  The Company, the Director, the Investment Committee, and the Trustee shall be named fiduciaries under the Plan within the meaning of ERISA, with the division of responsibilities between them as set forth in this Plan and the Trust Agreement.

    11.7  Administrator.  The Company shall be the "administrator," as that term is defined in ERISA §3(16)(A) and Code §414(g), of this Plan.

    11.8  Interpretation of the Plan and Findings of Facts.  The Director shall have sole and absolute discretion to interpret the provisions of the Plan (including, without limitation, by supplying omissions from, correcting deficiencies in, or resolving inconsistencies or ambiguities in, the language of the Plan), to make factual findings with respect to any issue arising under the Plan, to determine the rights and status under the Plan of Participants and other persons, to decide disputes arising under the Plan and to make any determinations and findings (including factual findings) with respect to the benefits payable thereunder and the persons entitled thereto as may be required for the purposes of the Plan. In furtherance of, but without limiting, the foregoing, the Director is hereby granted the following specific authorities, which he shall discharge in his sole and absolute discretion in accordance with the terms of the Plan (as interpreted, to the extent necessary, by the Director):

All decisions of the Director as to the facts of the case, as to the interpretation of any provision of the Plan or its application to any case, and as to any other interpretative matter or other determination or question under the Plan shall be final and binding on all parties affected thereby, subject to the provisions of Section 13.5 (Claims Procedure). The Director shall direct the Trustee relative to benefits to be paid under the Plan and shall furnish the Trustee with any information reasonably required by it for the purpose of paying benefits under the Plan. The Director may delegate to other persons all or such portion of their duties hereunder, other than those granted to the Trustee under the Trust Agreement, as the Director, in his sole discretion, may decide.

    11.9  Bonding, Insurance and Indemnity.  

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    11.10  Investment Committee.  The Investment Committee shall have those responsibilities specified in Article VI, and shall also advise the Company and the Director with respect to the addition, modification or deletion of Investment Funds under Section 6.2(c).


ARTICLE XII

AMENDMENT, TERMINATION, MERGER, CONSOLIDATION AND ADOPTION

    12.1  Permanency of Plan.  It is contemplated by the Company that the Plan and Trust shall be maintained permanently and that they shall constitute a qualified plan under Code §401 and a tax-exempt trust under Code §501, or any successor provisions. Nevertheless, the Company and the Employers must necessarily reserve and do hereby reserve the rights of amendment, termination and withdrawal as set forth in this Article.

    12.2  Right to Amend Plan.  

52


    12.3  Right to Terminate Plan.  

    12.4  Termination of Participation in Plan by Employer other than Company.  An Employer other than the Company may cease to participate in this Plan at any time by giving written notice to the Company indicating the effective date of such termination of participation prior to such effective date unless waived by the Company, and, in such event, the Account balances of Participants who are Employees of such Employer or who were Employees of such Employer and who are no longer Employees of any Employer shall be either held in the Trust for the benefit of such Participants and their Beneficiaries pursuant to the provisions of the Plan, or transferred to another plan of such Employer ceasing participation which is a qualified plan under Code §401(a) if the Company approves of such transfer and if the requirements of Section 12.5 of this Plan are, in the opinion of the Company in its sole discretion, satisfied.

53


    12.5  Merger, Consolidation, or Transfer of Assets.  

    12.6  Adoption of Plan by Aggregated Code §414 Employers.  

54


55



ARTICLE XIII

GENERAL PROVISIONS

    13.1  Participant's Rights to Employment, Etc.  Nothing contained in the Plan or the establishment of the Trust, or any modification thereof, or the creation of any fund or account, or the payment of any benefits, shall be construed to give any Employee, whether or not a Participant, or any Beneficiary, any rights to continued employment, any legal or equitable right against an Employer, or any officer or employee thereof, or the Trustee, or its agents or employees, except as herein provided.

    13.2  No Guarantee of Interests.  The Employer, the Director and the Trustee do not guarantee the Trust Fund from any loss or depreciation, nor do they guarantee any payment to any person. The liability of the Trustee, the Employer, and the Director to make payments hereunder is limited to the available assets of the Trust Fund.

    13.3  Standard of Conduct.  Any person who is a fiduciary with respect to this Plan shall: (i) discharge his duties solely in the interest of and for the exclusive purpose of providing benefits to Participants and their Beneficiaries and defraying the reasonable administrative expenses of the Plan, and shall conduct himself with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent man acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims; (ii) act at all times in accordance with the documents governing the Plan and Trust as they may be amended from time to time; (iii) not engage in nor allow the Plan or Trust to engage in any transaction which is prohibited under ERISA §406 and which is not allowed by ERISA §408 or is prohibited under Code §4975; (iv) not knowingly participate in or conceal an act of another fiduciary under the Plan which he knows to involve a breach of fiduciary duty within the meaning ERISA; and (v) make reasonable efforts under the circumstances to remedy a breach of duty described in subsection (iv) discovered by him.

    13.4  Allocation of Duties.  All responsibilities for the operation and administration of the Plan shall be allocated as follows:

    13.5  Claims Procedure.  

56


    13.6  Nonalienation or Assignment; QDRO's.  

57


    13.7  Plan Continuance Voluntary.  Although it is the intention of the Employer that this Plan shall be continued and that contributions shall be made regularly, this Plan is entirely voluntary on the part of the Employer, and the continuance of the Plan and the payments hereunder are not assumed as a contractual obligation of the Employer.

58


    13.8  Payments to Minors and Others.  In making any distribution to or for the benefit of any minor or incompetent Participant or Beneficiary, or any other Participant or Beneficiary who, in the opinion of the Director, is incapable of properly using, expending, investing, or otherwise disposing of such distribution, the Director, in his sole and complete discretion may, but need not, order the Trustee to make such distribution to a legal or natural guardian or other relative of such minor or court appointed committee of any incompetent, or to any adult with whom such person temporarily or permanently resides; and any such guardian, committee, relative, or other person shall have full authority and discretion to expend such distribution for the use and benefit of such person; and the receipt of such guardian, committee, relative, or other person shall be a complete discharge to the Trustee, the Director and this Plan, without any responsibility on the part of the Director or the Trustee to see to the application of amounts so distributed.

    13.9  Location of Payee; Unclaimed Benefits.  In the event that all, or any portion, of the distribution payable to a Participant or Beneficiary hereunder shall, at the expiration of a reasonable time after it has become payable, remain unpaid solely by reason of the inability of the Director, after sending a registered letter, return receipt requested, to the last known address of such person, and after further diligent effort (including requests to the Internal Revenue Service under Policy Statement P-1-187), to ascertain the whereabouts of such person, the amount so distributable shall be paid pursuant to the terms and provisions of the Plan as if the Participant or Beneficiary is deceased. If, for any reason, no Beneficiary or contingent Beneficiary can be found, the amount so distributable shall be forfeited and shall be used to reduce the contributions to the Plan. In the event a proper payee is located subsequent to the benefit being forfeited, the benefit shall be restored, and the Employer shall make special contributions to this Plan for such purpose.

    13.10  Governing Law.  This Plan shall be administered in the United States of America, and its validity, construction, and all rights hereunder shall be governed by the laws of the United States under ERISA. To the extent that ERISA shall not be held to have preempted local law, the Plan shall be administered under the laws of the State of Georgia. If any provision of the Plan shall be held invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions hereof shall continue to be fully effective.

    13.11  Correction of Participants' Accounts.  If an error or omission is discovered in the Accounts of a Participant, or in the amount distributed to a Participant, the Director will make such equitable adjustments in the records of the Plan as may be necessary or appropriate to correct such error or omission as of the Plan Year in which such error or omission is discovered. Further, the Employer may, in its discretion, make a special contribution to the Plan which will be allocated by the Director only to the Account of one or more Participants to correct such error or omission.

    13.12  Action of Employer and Director.  Except as may be specifically provided, any action required or permitted to be taken by the Employer or the Director may be taken on behalf of such person by any entity or individual who has been delegated the proper authority.

    13.13  Employer Records.  Records of the Employer as to an Employee's or Participant's period of employment, termination of employment and the reason therefore, leaves of absence, reemployment, compensation, and elections or designations under this Plan will be conclusive on all persons, unless determined by the Director to be incorrect.

    13.14  Fiduciary Indemnification.  The Company hereby agrees to indemnify any current or former Employee to the full extent of any expenses, penalties, damages, or other pecuniary loss which such current or former Employee may suffer as a result of his responsibilities, obligations, or duties in connection with the Plan or Trust or fiduciary activities actually performed in connection with the Plan or Trust. Such indemnification shall be paid by the Company to the current or former Employee to the extent that fiduciary liability insurance is not available for the payment of such items, but in no event shall such items be paid out of Plan assets. This indemnification agreement shall not apply to loss

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sustained as a result of willful wrongdoing, as determined by the Company. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this indemnification agreement shall not relieve any current or former Employee serving in a fiduciary capacity of his fiduciary responsibilities under ERISA, nor shall this agreement violate any provision of ERISA as it may be interpreted from time to time by the United States Department of Labor and any courts of competent jurisdiction.

    13.15  Gender and Number.  Wherever applicable, the masculine pronoun shall include the feminine pronoun, and the singular shall include the plural.

    13.16  Headings.  The titles in this Plan are inserted for convenience of reference; they constitute no part of the Plan, and are not to be considered in the construction hereof.

    13.17  Liability Limited.  To the extent permitted by ERISA and other applicable law, neither the Director nor the Employer shall be liable for any acts of omission or commission in administering the Plan, except for his or its own individual, willful misconduct. The Employer and the Director shall be entitled to rely conclusively on all tables, valuations, certificates, opinions and reports which shall be furnished by an actuary, accountant, trustee, insurance company, counsel or other expert who shall be employed or engaged by the Director or the Employer.

    13.18  Prohibited Discrimination.  This Plan shall be operated and administered in a uniform and consistent manner with respect to all Participants and in a manner which does not discriminate in favor of Highly Compensated Employees.

    13.19  Legal References.  Any references in this Plan to a provision of law which is, subsequent to the Effective Date of this Plan, revised, modified, finalized or redesignated, shall automatically be deemed a reference to such revised, modified, finalized or redesignated provision of law.

    13.20  Electronic Means of Communication.  Whenever, under this Plan, a Participant or Beneficiary is required or permitted to make an election, provide a notice, give a consent, request a distribution, or otherwise communicate with the Company, an Employer, the Director, the Trustee or a delegate of any of them, to the extent permitted by law, the election, notice, consent, distribution request or other communication may be transmitted by means of telephonic or other electronic communication, if the administrative procedures then in effect under the Plan provide for such means of communication.

    13.21  Military Service.  Notwithstanding any provisions of the Plan to the contrary, contributions, benefits and service credit with respect to qualified military service will be provided in accordance with Code § 414(u). "Qualified military service" means any service in the uniformed services (as defined in chapter 43 of title 38 of the United States Code) by any individual if such individual is entitled to reemployment rights under such chapter with respect to such service.

    13.22  Plan Conversions.  Notwithstanding any provision of the Plan to the contrary, during any conversion period, in accordance with procedures established by the Director, the Director may temporarily suspend, in whole or in part, certain provisions of the Plan, which may include, but are not limited to, a Participant's right to change his contribution election, a Participant's right to change his investment election and a Participant's right to borrow or withdraw from his Account or obtain a distribution for his Account.

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ARTICLE XIV

SPECIAL RULES APPLICABLE TO TOP HEAVY PLAN YEARS

    14.1  Top-Heavy Provisions.  If and only if, for any Plan Year, this Plan is a Top-Heavy Plan, the following provisions shall apply for such Plan Year notwithstanding any other provisions of this Plan to the contrary:

Years of Vesting
Service Earned by the
Participant

  Vested Percentage of
the Participant in
Forfeitable Accounts

Less than 2 Years   0% vested
2 Years   20% vested
3 Years   40% vested
4 Years   60% vested
5 Years   80% vested
6 or more Years   100% vested

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    14.2  Top-Heavy Special Definitions.  For purposes of this Article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:

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    IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Plan has been executed by the Company and its Corporate Seal attached hereto this 10th day of December, 1999, to be effective November 12, 1999.




QuickLinks

ABERDEEN HOURLY SAVINGS & INVESTMENT PLAN
ARTICLE I DEFINITIONS
ARTICLE II ELIGIBILITY FOR PARTICIPATION
ARTICLE III CONTRIBUTIONS AND ALLOCATIONS
ARTICLE IV LIMITATION ON ALLOCATIONS
ARTICLE V VESTING IN ACCOUNTS
ARTICLE VI ACCOUNTS AND INVESTMENTS
ARTICLE VII ALLOCATION OF EARNINGS AND LOSSES TO ACCOUNTS OF PARTICIPANTS
ARTICLE VIII PAYMENT OF BENEFITS
ARTICLE IX REQUIRED DISTRIBUTIONS
ARTICLE X THE TRUST FUND AND THE TRUSTEE
ARTICLE XI ADMINISTRATION
ARTICLE XII AMENDMENT, TERMINATION, MERGER, CONSOLIDATION AND ADOPTION
ARTICLE XIII GENERAL PROVISIONS
ARTICLE XIV SPECIAL RULES APPLICABLE TO TOP HEAVY PLAN YEARS