Smithers in Joint Venture with Auto Testing Company

    AKRON, Ohio, March 2 Smithers Scientific Services Inc. has
entered into a joint venture agreement with Auto Testing Co. Inc. (ATC), a
subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz U.S. International Inc., to conduct durability
testing in the U.S. for DaimlerChrysler Corp. (DCC).   Terms of the agreement
were not disclosed.
    The new joint venture company -- Automotive Testing DRIVEtech LLC -- will
be located at the Automotive Testing Properties (ATP LLC) Proving Ground in
Laredo, Texas, formerly owned by Michelin North America.  ATP, a subsidiary of
ATC, has owned and operated the Laredo facility since 1998.
    More than $3.5 million will be invested to enhance the existing test
facility with a new 14,000-sq.-ft. administrative building and garage and a
65-ft.-high hill climb with a 20-percent grade on one side and a 30-percent
grade on the other.  Also included will be three new stop lanes on the five-
mile high-speed track.  The new test facility is expected to be operational by
this fall.
    Smithers will manage DRIVEtech, which will employ about 80 people to
include engineers, technicians, mechanics, clerical staff and test drivers.
It will operate three eight-hour shifts 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
    "This is a great opportunity for us to combine our automotive proving
grounds expertise with DaimlerChrysler technology," said J. Michael
Hochschwender, Smithers' president and chief executive officer.  The company
operates two automotive proving grounds -- Smithers Transportation Test Center
in Pecos, Texas, and Smithers Winter Test Center near Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
    "The joint venture between Smithers and Auto Testing Co. represents an
excellent combination of automotive expertise from two highly qualified
companies.  DRIVEtech will benefit from the synergies of their cooperation,"
said Helmut Keller, ATC's chairman and CEO.
    Smithers is a leading independent testing, research and consulting firm,
serving an international client base of designers and manufacturers of
automotive, tire, aerospace, elastomeric, plastic, steel, chemical, medical
and transportation products.  For more information about the Akron, Ohio-based
company, log onto its Web site at http://www.smithersscientific.com .