INTERMET Executive Receives Prestigious Industry Award

    TROY, Mich., May 17 INTERMET Corporation
Executive Vice President of Technical Services Dr. Gary Ruff received the 2001
Ray H. Witt Award Tuesday, May 15, at the Advanced Casting Research Center
Spring Meeting held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass.
    The Ray H. Witt Award, first established in 1999, is given annually by the
Advanced Casting Research Center (ACRC) of the Metal Processing Institute to
an individual for his or her leadership in the aluminum casting industry and
for inspiring others to advance the industry through technical achievement.
Ray H. Witt, former president and CEO of CMI International, Inc., and a group
of industry leaders helped create the ACRC consortium in 1984.
    In presenting the award to Ruff, John Jorstad, of JLJ Technologies, Inc.,
said, "The ideals upon which this award is based were certainly promoted by
Ray Witt, but it was this year's recipient, Gary Ruff, who actually
implemented those ideals.  Dr. Ruff has provided both in-kind and direct
financial resources to broaden our technology base, through support of
numerous DOE, USCAR, NADCA and ACRC initiatives.  He has promoted
investigation and development of many new and advanced concepts and techniques
and has implemented more of them than most foundries ever see.  But I think,
most importantly, he has encouraged and facilitated the education and training
of new, young talent through, for example, the student internships here at
Worcester Polytechnic Institute."
    "I am very flattered to accept this award," said Ruff.  "The people at
ACRC and Worcester Polytechnic have done much to advance and promote the
science of metal casting.  To be given this award by such a group truly is an
honor."
    Before coming to INTERMET in June of 1999, Dr. Ruff spent 12 years at CMI
International and its successor company, Hayes Lemmerz International, where he
was President, responsible for manufacturing, engineering, and sales and
financial activities of the North American Aluminum Wheels Group.  He also has
18 years of experience with General Motors, where he was Chief Process
Engineer of the Central Foundry Division.
    Ruff is active in the American Foundry Society, where he has held the
chairmanship of various boards, councils and committees, and is the recipient
of the AFS Award of Scientific Merit.  He is the author of more than 20
technical papers and the holder of five metal casting patents.  He also is a
member of the American Society for Metals and the Society of Automotive
Engineers and serves as a member of the Visiting Committee of the Case School
of Engineering, Case Western University.

    About the Metal Processing Institute:
    The Metal Processing Institute is an industry/university alliance (located
at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Mass.) dedicated to advancing
the technical achievements of the metal-processing industry.  The Advanced
Casting Research Center carries out basic and developmental research related
to the metal-casting industry, focusing on light metals and semi-solid
processing, and provides a forum where industrial and academic sectors jointly
address the technological problems encountered in the metal-casting industry.
More than 120 private manufacturers, including INTERMET, participate in the
institute, supporting research that addresses technological issues facing the
industry.  Worcester Polytechnic Institute, founded in 1865, was an early
pioneer of an approach to technical education in which students learned the
theory of science and engineering in the classroom and put that knowledge into
practice in real manufacturing plants.

    About INTERMET Corporation:
    With headquarters in Troy, Michigan, INTERMET Corporation is a full-
service supplier of powertrain, chassis/suspension and structural components
to the worldwide automotive industry.  The company has more than 7,000
employees at facilities located in North America and Europe.  More information
about the company is available on the Internet at http://www.intermet.com .

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