GKN Sinter Metals Adds Capacity to its Plant in Bad Brueckenau, Germany

GKN Sinter Metals Adds Capacity to its Plant in Bad Brueckenau, Germany

          Technical Expertise, High-level Engineering Capabilities,
              Quality Shop-floor Workers Key Expansion Decision

    FRANKFURT, Germany, Sept. 12 With increased customer
orders and the addition of new customers in Europe during 2000, GKN Sinter
Metals made a strategic decision to add capacity to its Bad Brueckenau plant
in Germany and recently opened a new production hall with four production
lines for the manufacture of sprockets.
    The latest expansion, Bad Brueckenau's third, comes as the plant
celebrates 40 years of operation.  According to Seifi Ghasemi, GKN Sinter
Metals' Chairman & CEO, the choice to add capacity at Bad Brueckenau was based
on the technical expertise resident at the plant, high level of capabilities
of the engineering staff, and overall quality of the shop-floor workers.
    Today, the manufacturing area of the plant is approximately 17,000 square
meters (153,000 sq. ft.).  More than 500 workers are employed at the Bad
Brueckenau facility, which now operates with the most modern powder presses
thanks to additional capital investments.
    GKN Sinter Metals, with some 40 locations worldwide and business assets
spanning 13 countries and five continents, has sales of approximately $870
million and is the world's leading producer of powder metal components.  The
Company employs close to 7,000 people and produces over 10,000 different parts
for the automotive, commercial vehicle, home appliance, lawn & garden, office
equipment, power tool, and recreational vehicle markets.  GKN Sinter Metals is
a wholly owned subsidiary of U.K.-based GKN plc, a global industrial company.

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