Bosch Press Release: Recycled Carpets become Cooling Fan Shroud on Ford Windstar

08/16/96

Post-Consumer Recycled Assembly Premiers On Ford Windstar
Bosch, Wellman, Ford partner on recycled system


FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., Aug. 9 -- Robert Bosch
Corporation, partnering with Ford Motor Co. and Wellman,
Inc. of Shrewsbury, NJ, has developed a post-consumer
recycled engine cooling fan, motor and shroud assembly for the new
Ford Windstar.

The assembly is molded of Wellman's Wellamid ECOlon(TM), a nylon
material that uses discarded residential carpet obtained through a
recovery method developed by Wellman. The certified nylon material is
made from 60 percent recycled nylon, 25 percent of which comes from
post-consumer recycled carpet.

Bosch engineered the assembly system to provide equal or improved
strength, heat resistance and weight characteristics compared with
previous models. As the Tier 1 supplier, the Bosch Automotive Motor
Systems (BAMS) unit of Robert Bosch Corp. was responsible for the
development and production of the environmentally responsible system.

"This assembly epitomizes the concept of partnership, maximizing some
of the best capabilities of Ford, Wellman and Bosch into a
high-quality, high- performance, and, most importantly,
environmentally pleasing addition to the already popular Windstar,"
said David Robinson, president of Bosch Automotive Motor Systems and
executive vice president - heavy duty sales for the Bosch Automotive
Group. "We were able to coordinate the dimensional and environmental
needs of Ford, the technological and engineering capabilities of
Bosch, and the material and recycling knowledge of Wellman to develop
a cost- effective, high-volume, post-consumer recycled product that
does not sacrifice performance."

Wellman estimates that 2.1 to 3.4 billion pounds of residential carpet
is discarded every year, which could provide up to 1.1 billion pounds
of nylon fiber per year using Wellman's recovery process.

Wellman, Inc., the world's largest plastics recycler, has developed
ECOlon as the very first in a series of new products made with
post-consumer nylon fiber. Wellamid ECOlon is certified by Scientific
Certifications Systems, the nation's largest evaluator of
environmental claims, and joins Fortrel(R) EcoSpun(TM), a polyester
fiber made of 100 percent post-consumer recycled PET, and
EcoClear(TM), a packaging resin made of up to 100 percent recycled
PET, as part of Wellman's group of environmentally correct products.

Robert Bosch Corporation -- as part of Robert Bosch GmbH, the largest
independent automotive supplier in the world with total OEM sales
exceeding $14.3 billion in 1995 -- created BAMS in early 1995 to focus
its worldwide motor systems product strength in North America, reduce
its new product time to market, and better serve its customers. Bosch
combined four product- related activities to create BAMS, which has
product responsibility for small motors and small motor systems,
including electrical engine cooling modules, air moving systems,
fractional horsepower motors and windshield wiper systems.

Through its Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Automotive Group, Robert
Bosch Corporation delivers a variety of precision components and
systems to vehicle and powertrain manufacturers domestically and
abroad. These include diesel and gasoline fuel-injection components,
safety systems and components, small motors, electrical equipment and
electronics.