THOMAS INDUSTRIES ANNOUNCES LIVE WEBCAST
                   OF THEIR PRESENTATION AT BAIRD CONFERENCE

LOUISVILLE,  Ky., Nov. 13  /PRNewswire/ -- Thomas  Industries Inc. (NYSE:  TII -
news) today  announced that a Webcast of its  presentation to analysts at Robert
W. Baird & Co.'s  Industrial  Technology  Conference on Wednesday,  November 15,
2000, will be available live to shareholders and other interested parties.

    WHAT:  Presentation by Timothy C. Brown, Chairman, President and Chief
           Executive Officer, and Phillip J. Stuecker, Chief Financial Officer
           and Vice President of Finance, as part of Robert W. Baird & Co.'s
           30th Annual Industrial Technology Conference.
    WHEN:  Wednesday, November 15, 2000, at 12:55 p.m. CST
    HOW:   Live over the Internet
    WHERE: http://www.streetfusion.com (under "Special Events") OR
           ---------------------------
           http://www.thomasind.com (see the "What's New" box)
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If you are unable to listen during the live Webcast,  the  presentation  will be
archived  on the  above  Web  sites  until  January  15,  2001,  along  with the
accompanying slides.

Thomas Industries Inc., headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, is the recognized
leader in the design and  manufacture of pumps and compressors for use in global
OEM applications as well as pnuematic construction equipment,  leakage detection
systems and laboratory equipment. The Company also owns a 32 percent interest in
Genlyte Thomas Group LLC, the third largest  lighting  fixture  manufacturer  in
North  America.  Thomas has operations in the United  States,  Europe,  Asia and
Australia.