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Hayes Wheels to Acquire Bosch Heavy-Duty Wheel & Hub-and-Drum Businesses

25 July 1997

Hayes Wheels to Acquire Bosch Heavy-Duty Wheel & Hub-and-Drum Businesses

    ROMULUS, Mich., and FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich., July 25 -- Bosch
Braking Systems Corporation, a subsidiary of Robert Bosch Corporation, and
Hayes Wheels International, Inc. have reached an agreement for Hayes to
purchase Bosch's heavy-duty hub-and-drum and medium- and heavy-duty
steel-wheel businesses.  Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
    The steel-wheel business manufactures and markets tubeless steel disc
wheels for medium- and heavy-duty trucks and trailers.  Manufacturing is
conducted at a Bosch facility in Frankfort, Ohio.
    The hub-and-drum business manufactures and markets hub-and-drum assemblies
for the heavy-duty truck and trailer market.  Manufacturing is conducted at a
Bosch facility in Johnson City, Tennessee.
    Customers for both businesses include virtually all major original-
equipment producers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks and trailers, as well as
independent warehouse distributors.  The two businesses had combined sales in
1996 of approximately $40 million.
    The acquisition will complement Hayes' existing heavy-duty business, which
had 1996 sales of approximately $110 million and consists of a wheel
manufacturing facility in Akron, Ohio, and a hub-and-drum manufacturing
facility in Berea, Kentucky.
    "These are successful businesses, with excellent reputations and brand
awareness in the trucking industry," said Hans Weckerle, president, Bosch
Braking Systems Corporation.  "However, they do not fit the long-term
strategic focus we have established for Bosch's automotive brake business,
which is the design and production of braking systems and components for
light-duty vehicles and medium-duty trucks."
    "The two businesses fit together extremely well for Hayes, and we are very
excited at the opportunities provided by the acquisition," said Mike McGrath,
president of Hayes Wheels International's Commercial Highway Business.  "The
addition of Bosch's wheel business will significantly increase Hayes' position
as the second-leading supplier of wheels to the North American heavy-duty
truck and trailer market.  The acquisition will also provide additional hub
machining capacity and will expand Hayes' product line, enhancing the
company's position as the North American market leader in heavy-duty hubs and
drums."
    The sale is contingent on receiving the appropriate regulatory approvals.
    Robert Bosch Corporation is the U.S. subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH,
based in Stuttgart, Germany.  Bosch is a worldwide supplier to the automotive
industry, as well as a producer of communications systems, industrial
equipment and consumer goods such as appliances and power tools.  Bosch
worldwide sales in 1996 totaled $27.3 billion; sales in the U.S. were $3.0
billion.
    Hayes Wheels International is a world leader in the design,
engineering and manufacture of steel and aluminum wheels and brake drums and
rotors for the automotive and commercial highway markets in North America,
Europe and Asia.

SOURCE  Hayes Wheels International, Inc.