ZF Breaks Ground on 148,000 Square-Foot Expansion Of North American Technical Center in Northville, Mich.

NORTHVILLE, Mich., May 12, 2003 -- ZF -- a leading worldwide automotive supplier of driveline and chassis technology -- broke ground today on a 148,000 square-foot expansion of its North American Technical Center, located in Northville, Mich. When completed in October 2004, the facility will total 246,000 square feet and house 500 associates, including engineers and sales personnel -- and serve as the technical center of competence for North America.

The expansion will also combine all ZF research and development personnel under one roof. Currently, all ZF Sachs research and development is done at the Sachs Technical Center in Troy, Mich.

"This expansion is a significant step in our commitment to the North American region," said Bernd Habersack, President, ZF Group North American Operations. "It allows us to combine all of our research and development activities from several divisions at a single location."

In addition, personnel from human resources, marketing, finance and information technology will work in the building.

"ZF enjoys a great relationship with the Northville Township, as well as the Detroit automotive community, and we feel that having our core competencies in a single location improves the way we do business," added Habersack. "The integration of Sachs into the ZF organization affords us the opportunity to provide complete chassis systems developed under one roof."

DeMattia Group (Plymouth, Mich.) designed the building and will facilitate construction. Full construction is expected to start in mid-June. Move-in is planned for November 2004.

ZF Friedrichshafen AG is a leading worldwide supplier of driveline and chassis technology. Headquartered in Friedrichshafen, Germany, ZF is the 15th largest automotive supplier in the world. The company has a total workforce of 53,300 at 119 locations in 25 countries, and combined revenues for the group totaled more than $10 billion in 2002.

With sales of more than $2 billion in 2002 ZF expects NAFTA region annual sales of more than $3 billion by 2004. ZF Group North American Operations are headquartered in Florence, Kentucky.