text: **To the Board of Directors and Shareholders of HON INDUSTRIES Inc.**
  
  We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of HON INDUSTRIES Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 29, 2001, 
  
  December 30, 2000*, and January 1, 2000*, and the related consolidated statements of income, shareholders equity, and cash flows for each of 
  
  the fiscal years then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an 
  
  opinion on these financial statements based on our audits. 
  
  We conducted our audits in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States. Those standards require that 
  
  we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit 
  
  includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing 
  
  the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. 
  
  We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion. 
  
  In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of 
  
  HON INDUSTRIES Inc. and Subsidiaries as of December 29, 2001, December 30, 2000*, and January 1, 2000*, and the results of its operations 