HITCO Adds New Talent to Senior Financial Staff

LOS ANGELES, April 14 -- HITCO CARBON COMPOSITES, INC. (HITCO), an affiliate of the German based SGL Carbon Group , announced the appointment of two senior executives to its financial staff. Mr. Steven R. Bower has assumed the position of Senior Vice President, Finance and Administration. Mr. James B. Fischer is Vice President, Finance reporting to Steven Bower.

Steven R. Bower has been affiliated with SGL Carbon Group since 1996. He moves to HITCO after being Corporate Controller at SGL's global head office in Wiesbaden, Germany. Previous to his appointment in Wiesbaden, he was a Corporate Controller in the North American Headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina. Before joining SGL Carbon Group, Mr. Bower, a CPA and CMA certified in Financial Management, held positions in Investor Relations, Financial Reporting and Accounting at Collins & Aikman Corporation. He also served as an Audit Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers. In addition to his professional credentials, he holds an MBA from Duke University and a B.S. in Business Administration from California State University, Northridge.

James B. Fischer has varied industry experience in manufacturing, venture capital, and consulting organizations. He began his career with Ernst & Young as an Audit Manager. Prior to working for SGL, Mr. Fischer was with Tatum CFO Partners and served as CFO at Ogden Atlantic Design, a division of Ogden Services. Mr. Fischer, also a CPA, holds a B.B.A. in Business Administration from Western Michigan University.

"The steady growth that we are experiencing here at HITCO has necessitated the addition of these talented and capable executives to our management staff. I welcome them to our HITCO team and look forward to their contributions toward implementing our strategies for providing the best manufacturing solutions for our existing and new customers worldwide," said Paul W. Pendorf, HITCO's President.

HITCO CARBON COMPOSITES, INC. manufactures advanced composite materials for defense, aerospace and industrial applications. Products range from solid rocket motor nozzle assemblies, aircraft assemblies, wet and dry friction applications such as military aircraft and automobile racing carbon-carbon brakes, automotive torque control assemblies and transmissions, to materials for industrial insulation for the aluminum and steel industries, chemical process industries and petroleum plants among others. Founded in 1922, HITCO continues to be an innovative leader in the advancement of carbon composite technologies. The SGL CARBON GROUP, headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany is the world's largest producer of carbon and graphite products with approximately 8,000 employees. Annual sales in 2001 amounted to 1,230,000,000 E. The Company's business is focused on four areas: Carbon and Graphite (CG), Graphite Specialties (GS), Corrosion Protection (CP), SGL Technologies (SGL T) which comprises the growth businesses of the company. Divisions of SGL Technologies manufacture products such as high-performance carbon-ceramic brake discs and fuel cell components. Hitco Carbon Composites, Inc. is also part of SGL Technologies and manufactures composite structures, high-temperature materials and thermal insulation.