AIAG Board Appoints New Member

DETROIT, May 31, 2006 -- The board of directors of the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG) announced today that Gerald L. (Jerry) Craig, manager, administration and e-business for Caterpillar Inc., has been appointed to the association's board of directors.

Craig joins the board that represents a cross-section of member companies from automakers, truck manufacturers and suppliers. The board provides strategic direction and oversees AIAG's collaborative efforts to be the catalyst for the global automotive industry to establish a seamless, efficient and responsible supply chain. Areas of key initiatives include automatic identification, collaborative engineering and product development, e-commerce, electronic data interchange, early warning standards, finance, health, materials management, occupational health & safety, regulatory issues, returnable containers, telecommunications, and truck & heavy equipment.

Craig has 37 years of experience in a variety of capacities for Caterpillar. In his current role, he manages operational and administrative support for more than 3,000 truck, marine and industrial dealers, including the deployment of e-business solutions. His responsibilities also include the coordination with Caterpillar distributors, marketing profit centers outside North America and the marine and industrial global product business units. Previously, he held positions in marketing and sales support, product support and information technology. He began his career at Caterpillar in the company's information systems college graduate training program.

Craig holds a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics with a minor in physics from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill.

Craig resides in Congerville, Ill.

Founded in 1982, AIAG is headquartered in the metro Detroit area. Its member companies include North American, European and Asia-Pacific OEMs and suppliers to the automotive industry with combined annual sales of more than $850 billion. A not-for-profit association, AIAG's primary goals are to reduce cost and complexity within the automotive supply chain and to improve speed to market, product quality, employee health-and-safety and the environment. Additional information is available on the Internet at http://www.aiag.org/ .