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Auto Executives Rate Freudenberg-NOK 'Best of the Best' For Sealing Systems

16 August 2000

In Automotive Industries Magazine's Quest for Excellence Survey

    PLYMOUTH, Mich. - In the automotive supply industry's equivalent to the 
Academy Awards, Freudenberg-NOK received top honors in the seals, gaskets and 
packings category for the second consecutive year, according to results 
published in Automotive Industries magazine's latest issue.

    According to Automotive Industries, which polled 1,238 readers for its
third annual Quest for Excellence awards, Freudenberg-NOK was ranked as the
"best of the best" among suppliers based on the critical issues of quality,
price, delivery, service/response and innovation.  The survey was conducted by
PriceWaterhouseCoopers' Survey Research Center in May.

    "It's quite an honor to be rated as the best of the best by our customers
for two years running in one of our core technologies -- sealing," said
Richard E. Allen, chief executive officer of Freudenberg-NOK's Automotive
Sector.  "This award recognizing our company's quest for excellence is truly a
testament to our employees, our technical depth and our ongoing commitment to
lean systems.  And it further underscores our status as a Technology
Specialist offering total sealing system expertise."

    "It is indeed high praise to receive the Quest for Excellence award, since
the winners are determined by our readers -- the customers in the automotive
industry -- based on their own experiences," said Andrew J. Cummins, editorial
director for Automotive Industries magazine.  "The industry has spoken.
Suppliers such as Freudenberg-NOK who consistently rank high in the five areas
of quality, price, delivery, service/response and innovation truly deserve to
be ranked among the best of the best."

    This honor, Allen said, builds upon other major milestones for
Freudenberg-NOK this year, including the completion of the company's 15,000th
kaizen project, the winning of several OEM and Tier 1 supplier customer
quality awards, and the announcement of three major North American total
sealing contracts for engine, transmission and steering applications.

    Plymouth, Mich.-based Freudenberg-NOK is part of the Freudenberg and NOK
Group Companies, which have total annual sales of nearly $7 billion.  With
global automotive sales of approximately $4 billion, the Freudenberg and NOK
Group ranks among the 15 largest OEM automotive suppliers (per Crain's Detroit
Business) and is one of only eight in the top 100 that has global balance in
each of the three major automotive markets -- Asia, Europe and North America
(according to Automotive News).

    Through a global network of facilities spanning 27 countries with some
23,000 automotive employees worldwide, the supplier group offers its
automotive customers globally integrated products, including sealing packages
for transmissions, engines, brakes, axles and steering, NVH (noise, vibration
and harshness) components and packages, and all rubber, plastic and PTFE
components for suspension, electrical and fuel systems.

    The Freudenberg and NOK Group also offers an extensive portfolio of
precision-molded products for the aerospace, appliance, business machine,
fluid power, marine, medical, off-highway equipment and recreational vehicle
markets.