Shawmut Mills Acquires Brooklyn Products

    PLYMOUTH, Mich., Jan. 21 Shawmut Mills, the largest
independent supplier of headliner laminates and other soft composites for
automotive interiors, announced today that it has reached an agreement to
acquire the assets of Brooklyn Products Incorporated of Brooklyn, Mich.
Brooklyn Products is a leading provider of die cut and formed soft material
inserts used in the production of door panels, sunshades, kick panels and
specialty seating components.
    "This is another step towards our strategic vision of becoming the leading
provider of innovative soft material solutions for every facet of the
automotive interior," said Daniel Wyner, president and CEO of Shawmut.
"Brooklyn Products has long been recognized as an innovator in its markets
with a very broad range of specialized cutting, thermo-forming, heat-sealing
and welding capabilities for engineered textiles.  Adding Brooklyn Products to
the Shawmut family will expand the range of products and services that Shawmut
can offer its Tier 1 & 2 customers and create a highly efficient integrated
cost structure for manufacturing fabricated textile components.
    "The combination will also allow Brooklyn to leverage Shawmut's extensive
technical and development resources to bring increased levels of innovation
and support to its customers and similarly provide Brooklyn with the financial
backing necessary to support its customers for the long term."
    The combined entity will be the industry's largest independent provider of
fabricated and engineered textile components with combined revenues in excess
of $100 million.  The transaction is scheduled to close in March 2003.
    Shawmut Mills, founded in 1916, is a privately held company headquartered
in West Bridgewater, Mass. with manufacturing locations in West Bridgewater
and Port Huron, Mich., and a sales office located in Plymouth, Mich.  Shawmut
possesses the industry's broadest range of processes for laminating flexible
materials for automotive interior applications.  The company leverages this
process capability in combination with material engineering expertise and a
broad material supply network to bring best of breed composite solutions to
its customers in areas such as headlining, pillar wraps, foamed-in-place
seating and components, and door panel inserts.  For more information, see
http://www.shawmut-mills.com .
    Brooklyn Products Incorporated is a family owned business founded in 1955
by Carl Linenfelser.  Carl's son, Robert Linenfelser, has run the company
since 1979.