Freudenberg-NOK's New President and CEO Focused on Positioning Corteco As Leading Aftermarket Supplier in Gaskets and Sealing

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 4 -- Dr. Mohsen Sohi, the president and CEO of Plymouth, Mich.-based Freudenberg-NOK since March of this year, has a strategic plan to grow the company's Corteco aftermarket business as a one- stop shopping solution for gasket and sealing needs. The company is exhibiting here at the Automotive Aftermarket Products Expo from Nov. 4, 2003-7 (booth #1645).

"While the core business of Freudenberg-NOK has been original equipment (OE) automotive sealing and vibration control, I strongly believe we can increase our presence in the aftermarket industry -- and value to the customer -- with the Corteco brand," said Sohi. "We will accomplish this by consistently providing superior, OE-quality products, offering world-class technology innovations and making targeted acquisitions to augment our product lines."

The first acquisition under Sohi's leadership was the July 2003 purchase of the Omega power steering hose and rebuild kit business from Federal-Mogul. This is a full line of OE-style products, offering modified hoses to reduce inventory costs and Time Saver hoses for easier, faster installation. According to Sohi, this acquisition clearly helps position Corteco as a full- service aftermarket supplier and industry leader in power steering hose product offerings.

Sohi is also strongly committed to keeping Freudenberg-NOK and its business units' reputation as the "Technology Specialist" through innovations such as the WhiteSeal Technology(TM) gasket coating, first introduced to the aftermarket in 2001.

Corteco's technical team, which is supported by Freudenberg-NOK's $30 million Technical Concept Center, as well as other research facilities in Freudenberg and NOK's global network, has spent the past two years focusing on new technology to improve products, create more robust designs and to ensure perfect quality.

Sohi said he is building upon a solid foundation that started with the company's long-standing TransTec business and was expanded with the 1999 acquisition of a gasket manufacturer. Since that time, the company has made significant investments to redesign its entire product line, including upgrading materials and improving the tooling and manufacturing process, resulting in very durable gaskets and seals.

Late last year, as part of its five-year project plan, the company doubled the size of its Milan, Ohio distribution center to accommodate Corteco's aggressive growth schedule, representing an $8.2 million investment. Corteco expects to add another 110,000 square feet to the customer service facility by 2007.

According to Sohi, the bottom line is if you take care of the technology, produce the best quality product available and exceed the customer's expectations, the market share and revenue will follow. He plans to do just that.

Corteco offers a full range of original equipment products for the automotive aftermarket. The company currently ships 4.5 million transmission kits, 1.6 million power steering kits and 1.4 million engine gasket kits per year, covering virtually all vehicles sold in the North American market.

Corteco is the aftermarket business of Plymouth, Mich.-based Freudenberg- NOK, part of the Freudenberg and NOK Group Companies, with total annual sales of more than $7 billion and worldwide automotive sales of approximately $4 billion. The Freudenberg and NOK Group is among the world's largest and most globally balanced automotive technology suppliers.

For more information, visit Corteco's web site at www.corteco-usa.com and the Freudenberg-NOK web site at www.freudenberg-nok.com .