GKN Sinter Metals' Key Management Appointments

REDDITCH, England, February 24 --

Thomas Roethig has been appointed senior vice president of sales and marketing at GKN Sinter Metals and Rich McCorry has been named president of North American Operations, according to Andy Reynolds Smith, the company's president and CEO.

Formerly vice president for global sales, Roethig will be based in Radevormwald, Germany. He joined GKN Sinter Metals in 1998 as director of operations for its Radevormwald Filters plant. He previously held management positions at Fraunhofer Gesellschaft and Hoechst AG in Germany and Celanese Mexicana in Mexico.

McCorry will be headquartered in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills, in the United States. He previously was an executive vice president of the Barnes Group, where he served as president of its Associated Spring business unit -- the largest spring manufacturer in North America. He also has held senior management positions at Textron, Lear and Masland Industries.

Both McCorry and Roethig also will serve on the company's global Executive Team.

Roethig graduated from the University of Hanover in Germany with a degree in mechanical engineering. He has a master's degree from the University of California and a Ph.D. from the University of Stuttgart, both in chemical engineering. He also has completed a business administration program from the European Business School in Germany.

In addition to German, Roethig is fluent in English and Spanish. He has lived and worked in a number of countries, including Germany, Mexico and the United States.

Roethig resides with his wife and two sons in Schwelm, Germany.

Fluent in several languages, McCorry holds degrees in commerce and engineering from Drexel University in the U.S. He also has completed the Advanced Executive Management Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

McCorry has managed businesses in Mexico, Italy and the U.K. He lives with his wife and daughter in suburban Detroit.

GKN Sinter Metals, with more than 30 locations worldwide and business assets spanning 15 countries on five continents, has annual sales approaching US$1 billion. It is the world's leading producer of precision powder-metal components. The company employs some 7,000 people and produces more than 10,000 different parts for automotive and other industrial markets. GKN Sinter Metals is a wholly-owned subsidiary of U.K.-based GKN plc, a global industrial company.

Company Contact: Kristyn Godlew of GKN Sinter Metals, +1-248-364-7787 or +1-248-884-0457, kristyn.godlew@gknsintermetals.com ; or Media Contacts: Laura Oliveto, loliveto@usautocom.com , or Larry Weis, lweis@usautocom.com , of AutoCom Associates, +1-248-647-8621. NOTE TO EDITORS: Digital photo available. Contact Laura Oliveto at loliveto@usautocom.com