Wescast And Linamar Announces PSA Peugeot Citroen Business

    BRANTFORD & GUELPH, Ontario--July 17, 2001-- Weslin Industries Inc. located in Oroszlany, Hungary, a joint venture between Wescast Industries Inc. and Linamar Corporation , has been awarded a contract with Groupe Valfond to supply cast exhaust manifolds for PSA Peugeot Citroen.
    The 1.8L diesel engine program for Peugeot will commence production in the fall of 2001 at Wescast's Brantford casting facility and will transfer production to Weslin in February 2002. When fully ramped up, it will result in 440,000 pieces annually for 5 years. Groupe Valfond in Vouziers, France, will machine this takeover casting business. The manifolds will then be shipped to the PSA Peugeot-Citroen engine plant in Tremery, France to be used in the Peugeot 206, 306 and small utility vans Partner and Expert, the Citroen Xsara and small utility vans Bellingo, Jumpy and C15, as well as the Fiat small utility van Scudo.
    "The collaborative relationship has resulted in attracting new business in the competitive European automotive market," commented Ray Finnie, President and CEO of Wescast Industries Inc. "The opportunity to work with PSA Peugeot Citroen and its suppliers is exciting and will be significant to all our stakeholders."
    "We are pleased the strategic alliance has enhanced Linamar's and Wescast's ability to compete internationally," said Linda Hasenfratz, President of Linamar Corporation. "We look forward to a long-term relationship with PSA Peugeot Citroen as we grow our market share in Europe."
    Weslin Industries Inc. is a European joint venture operation between Wescast Industries Inc. and Linamar Corporation and was established in 1999 for the sales, design and manufacture of iron automotive castings for the European market. Linamar Corporation is a global manufacturer of precision-machined components, assemblies, and castings primarily for the automotive industry. Wescast Industries Inc. is a world leader in manufacturing iron exhaust manifolds for the light vehicle and truck industry. Both companies are headquartered in southwestern Ontario.

Advisory

    Certain information regarding the Company set forth in this document, including management's assessment of the Company's future plans and operations, may constitute forward-looking statements under applicable securities law and necessarily involve risks associated with the automotive industry, production, marketing, and transportation such as loss of market, volatility of prices, currency fluctuations, environmental risks, competition from other producers and ability to access sufficient capital from internal and external sources; as a consequence, actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements.