INTERMET to Open Sales and Engineering Office in Japan

Confirms commitment to support growing base of Asia Pacific-based customers

TROY, Mich., July 30 -- INTERMET Corporation , one of the world's leading manufacturers of cast-metal automotive components, today announced that it will open a Sales and Engineering Office in Japan to support its growing roster of automotive customers based in the Asia-Pacific region. Located in central Tokyo, the new office will further expand INTERMET's engineering and sales support activities and will be networked with the company's other sales and technology centers in the United States and Europe.

The facility will house sales engineering personnel and support staff who will be responsible for creating brand awareness, expanding sales distribution channels and increasing demand for INTERMET products. They also will be focused on working with INTERMET's automotive partners in Japan, China and Korea to design cast-metal components that will help reduce the weight, cost and production cycles of their products.

"Our competitive strength depends on our ability to develop products that meet the needs of automotive OEM and system suppliers wherever they are located," said Terry C. Graessle, INTERMET's Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "Strategically, this new Sales and Engineering Office will provide enhanced support in a location ideal for building on the awareness of INTERMET in that region."

Tom Prucha, INTERMET's Vice President of Technical Services, said, "As we continue to expand our market penetration into the Japanese, Chinese and Korean automotive industries, the need for personnel and technical services to support this activity globally is increasing dramatically. This has been the case with our customers in North America and Europe, and now these manufacturers are relying more on their key suppliers for critical design and analysis to support new product introduction."

Prucha adds that the Tokyo facility will help position INTERMET to meet growing global demand not only for its products, but also for its unique Material-Process Continuum strategy. "We believe that along with our recently announced Engineering Center in Germany and current engineering facilities in Virginia and Michigan, this new office is further evidence of our commitment to bring our 'continuum' of material and process technologies to the customer's doorstep."

INTERMET plans to open the Sales and Engineering Office on August 1, 2003.

With headquarters in Troy, Michigan, INTERMET Corporation is a manufacturer of powertrain, chassis/suspension and structural components for the automotive industry. INTERMET's strategy is to be the world's leading supplier of cast-metal automotive components. The company has more than 5,500 employees at facilities located in North America and Europe. More information is available on the Internet at www.intermet.com .