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Freudenberg and NOK Group to Report Global Automotive Network's Sales Figure For 1997

20 October 1997

Freudenberg and NOK Group to Report Global Automotive Network's Sales Figure For 1997; Expected to Rank Among World's Top 25 Independent Suppliers

    PLYMOUTH, Mich., Oct. 20 -- To better reflect its global
reach and the integration of its automotive operations around the world, the
Freudenberg and NOK Group Companies -- comprising Freudenberg Dichtungs und
Schwingungstechnik Europe, NOK Corporation in Asia, and Freudenberg-NOK
General Partnership in the Americas -- will begin reporting its global
automotive industry sales total.
    The announcement was made by Joseph C. Day, Chief Executive Officer for
Freudenberg-NOK, the group's operating unit in the Americas.
    Day said the global automotive sales revenue figure for the Freudenberg
and NOK Group network will be issued in the second quarter of each year,
beginning in March 1998 with 1997 year-end results, to emphasize the size and
reach of the network's automotive business.
    Total automotive sales for the global group for 1997 are expected to
surpass $3.2 billion, he said. This would place the Freudenberg and NOK Group
into the ranks of the world's top 25 independent automotive suppliers, among
such globally recognized names as Bosch, Denso and TRW.
    "In the past few years, our group companies have closely synchronized
their automotive operations around the world -- unifying with a single
worldwide approach to products, processes, technology and organizational
structure," Day said. "Today, these operations are working together as a
single entity, to seamlessly serve our automaker and Tier One customers
wherever they need us.
    "By announcing our global sales as a single number, we better reflect the
unified operating network that we have become, and we provide our customers
with a macro view --by which they can see the true size, capability, technical
prowess and global coverage that we offer as a supplier partner," he said.
    Day indicated that Freudenberg -- a $3.5 billion, privately held company
based in Weinheim, Germany -- and NOK Corporation -- a $2 billion, publicly
traded company based in Tokyo, Japan -- have continued to expand their
relationship since the two companies first signed a technical agreement in the
late 1950's.
    Today,  Freudenberg holds 23 percent of NOK and also is the majority
partner with NOK in the Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership, a joint venture
they created in 1989 to serve the North and South American continents.
    Through a global network of automotive facilities in 24 countries with
some 21,500 employees worldwide, the Freudenberg and NOK Group offers its
automotive customers globally integrated products, including total sealing
packages for engines, transmissions and brakes, complete NVH (noise, vibration
and harshness) modules and all rubber, plastic and PTFE components for
suspension, steering, electrical and fuel systems.
    With total annual sales surpassing $6 billion, the supplier group also
offers an extensive portfolio of precision-molded products for the aerospace,
appliance, business machine, fluid power, marine, medical, off-highway
equipment and recreational vehicle markets.
    For more information about the Freudenberg and NOK Group Companies, visit
 Freudenberg-NOK's web site on the Internet at http://www.freudenberg-nok.com.
SOURCE  Freudenberg and NOK Group Companies