Behr America Is Honored With International Business Award

TROY, Mich., Feb. 26, 2004 -- Behr America, a leading supplier of automotive engine cooling and air conditioning systems, has received the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest (GACCoM) 2004 Merlin Award.

Behr America was honored for excellence in international business practices, product innovation and consistently exemplary management. Other 2004 Merlin Award winners included Lohan Caprile Goettsch Architects, Richard Wolf Medical Instruments Corp. and Webasto Roof Systems Inc. Dean Arneson, Behr Dayton Thermal Products' vice president, accepted the award at ceremonies held recently in Chicago.

"We are very pleased to be presented with the Merlin Award," Arneson said. "It reinforces our commitment and dedication to maintaining the highest quality and customer service standards as well as our commitment to our North American customer base."

Behr America is in the midst of one of the most ambitious automotive expansion programs in North America, including an investment of more than $200 million in new facilities and equipment and the introduction of innovative new product designs, including the first electronically controlled fan-clutch produced in North America. The company also has been recognized as one of the automotive industry's top suppliers by Automotive Industries Magazine.

The Merlin Award is named after one of the founders of the German American Chamber of Commerce, Peter H. Merlin, who is currently the group's honorary director.

Behr America is a leading automotive supplier of engine cooling modules and components, Visco fan assemblies and air conditioning systems. With the addition of a new plant in Ohio in 2002, North American sales for 2003 were approximately $820 million. The company has about 2,700 total employees in production facilities in Troy and Webberville, Michigan; Dayton, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina, and Fort Worth, Texas.

Behr America is part of Stuttgart, Germany-based Behr GmbH & Co. KG, its parent company and a systems partner for the international automobile industry. A specialist for automotive air conditioning and engine cooling systems, the Behr Group is one of the world's leading manufacturers and suppliers of original equipment for passenger and commercial vehicles.

Group sales in the 2002 business year came to about $3.2 billion (2.8 billion euros). Currently Behr employs more than 16,000 people in 25 worldwide production facilities in Europe, North and South America, South Africa and Asia. Additional company information is available on the Internet at www.behrgroup.com .