GKN Sheepbridge Stokes Names Daymond Regional Sales Manager - America

        Sales Appointment, Recent Establishment of Manufacturing Site
         In Wisconsin, Underscore Commitment to North American Market

    MENOMONEE FALLS, Wis., July 5 GKN Sheepbridge Stokes,
supplier of cylinder liner products for car, truck, bus, tractor, marine,
locomotive and power generation applications, has appointed Irv Daymond as
Regional Sales Manager - America.
    The announcement was made by David Pearson, the Company's Director of
Sales & Marketing.
    Mr. Daymond joins Sheepbridge Stokes from sister company GKN Sinter Metals
in Auburn Hills, MI, where he was an Account Manager for OEMs and Tier One
suppliers in the automotive and truck industries.  In his new capacity, he
will be responsible for focusing on growth opportunities in the United States.

    Products, Markets & Customers
    GKN Sheepbridge Stokes, based in Chesterfield, England, is Europe's
largest cylinder liner manufacturer and pioneered the centrifugal casting
process in 1917.  QS-9000, ISO 9002 and ISO 14000 accredited, the Company has
used continuous material, process and product development to become a world
leader in the manufacture of cylinder liners for internal combustion engines.
    Specifically, GKN Sheepbridge Stokes manufactures a range of cast iron
liners in materials having mechanical and chemical properties to suit
different operating environments.  Latest developments include higher strength
and more resilient materials.  The product range includes wet, mid-stop and
dry press-fit designs.  Liners can be supplied in fully finished, semi-
finished and "as-cast" conditions.
    Demands for improved fuel economy, reduced weight, emissions compliance
and improved recyclability are driving product development to look at
alternative materials.  GKN Sheepbridge Stokes is able to offer cylinder
liners in hyper-eutectic aluminum alloys.  A number of such products are in
development with engine manufacturers worldwide.
    Among current customers of GKN Sheepbridge Stokes are Ford, Audi, Land
Rover, Toyota and Volvo in the Passenger Car sector; Cummins, Perkins, Volvo
Truck, Renault and SISU in the Truck/Bus/Off-Highway segment; and Cooper
Energy, DresserRand, GM EMD, General Electric, Rolls Royce and Wartsila NSD in
Industrial/Marine.

    Establishing a North American Beachhead
    Traditionally running production from a single site in the United Kingdom,
GKN Sheepbridge Stokes last year established a manufacturing facility in
Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin, underscoring its continual drive to serve a global
market.
    Further evidence of the importance being attached to the American market
is found in the Company's 2001 market analysis.  GKN Sheepbridge Stokes
expects 70 percent of its products to be sold outside of its domestic U.K.
market.  Forty-six percent (46%) of exports will be to the United States, with
41 percent going to Europe (20% to Germany; 11% to Sweden, and 10% to France)
and 13 percent headed to other parts of the world.
    GKN Sheepbridge Stokes is a member of the GKN plc group of companies.