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Hayes Acquires Remaining Ownership in Alumitech

16 March 1998

Hayes Acquires Remaining Ownership in Alumitech

                     - Alumitech Acquisition to be Hayes'
                6th Aluminum Wheel Facility in North America -

    ROMULUS, Mich., March 16 -- Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.
, the world's leading supplier of wheels and brake components,
today announced that it has acquired the remaining fifty percent of Alumitech,
its aluminum wheel joint venture that it shares with ASAHI Tech and Tomen.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
    Alumitech was a joint venture formed in 1989 to manufacture aluminum
wheels for the North American light vehicle market. The 300 thousand-square
foot facility, based in Somerset, Kentucky, has capacity to produce
1.2 million wheels per year, including wheels for Honda and Mercedes.  Annual
sales for the facility are approximately $50 million.
    The Kentucky operation will be Hayes' sixth aluminum wheel facility in
North America.  The other facilities are in Howell, MI, Huntington, IN,
LaMirada, CA, Gainesville, GA and Chihuahua, Mexico.  Combined with cast
aluminum wheel plants in Europe, in Italy, Spain, and Belgium, as well as
facilities in South America and the Far East, Hayes is the largest producer of
cast aluminum wheels in the world.
    "The acquisition will provide additional capacity to meet strong customer
demand," said Ron Kolakowski, president of Hayes' North American aluminum
wheel business.  "We plan to upgrade the facility by making strategic
investments throughout 1998.  Our continuing drive to cost effectively add
capacity, by incorporating leading product and process technology, will ensure
our market and industrial leadership positions into the 21st century."
    Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc. , with annual sales of over
$1.4 billion, 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.  Hayes Lemmerz
International has more than 7,000 employees and 20 manufacturing facilities in
9 countries worldwide.

SOURCE  Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc.