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Ross County Purchases Bosch Facility

26 March 1998

Ross County Purchases Bosch Facility

    FRANKFORT, Ohio, March 26 -- Bosch Braking Systems today
announced that Ross County Community Improvement Corporation (CIC) has agreed
to purchase Bosch's Frankfort, Ohio, facility.  The purchase will permit Ross
County CIC to explore creative ways to market the 200,000-square-feet
facility, improve employment opportunity in the area and bolster the county's
tax base.  Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
    "We are very happy to be able to work out an agreement with Bosch Braking
Systems on the purchase of the Frankfort facility," said Dona Smith, executive
vice president of Ross County CIC.  "Bosch has been very cooperative and has
done everything possible to help Ross County and the state of Ohio attract a
company willing to increase employment and pay an industrial wage.  Not only
did they sell the property to us for less than its appraised market value,
Bosch also invested a substantial amount of money to clean and repair the
facility."
    "Since the time of the decision to close the plant, Bosch has been
committed to working with the CIC to promote the facility and to find a
suitable occupant as quickly as possible," said Hans Weckerle, president of
Bosch Braking Systems.  "We are confident the CIC will do an excellent job for
Frankfort and Ross County in marketing the facility to a new manufacturing
company."
    Under Bosch's ownership, the facility produced brake components, including
hubs, drums and rotors for light trucks as well as tubeless steel disc wheels
for heavy trucks and semi-trailers.  The facility sits on 61 acres and is
located on County Road 550.
    "Ross County has always been aggressive in marketing the area," said
Smith.  "We have a strong pro-business community.  The availability of this
manufacturing plant will greatly enhance our efforts to attract a strong
quality manufacturing firm that will provide jobs for the citizens of Ross
County."
    Bosch designs and produces precision automotive components and systems
sold to vehicle and powertrain manufacturers in the U.S. and abroad.  These
include systems and components for gasoline and diesel injection, airbag
components, ABS and conventional brake systems, lighting components as well as
small motors, electrical equipment and electronics.
    Bosch Braking Systems is a division of Robert Bosch Corporation.  Robert
Bosch Corporation is the wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Robert Bosch GmbH,
headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany.
    The Ross County Community Improvement Corporation's mission is to advance
and promote the Ross County economy through industrial and commercial
development, thereby creating employment opportunities by attracting new
companies and through the retention and expansion of existing business and
industry.

SOURCE  Bosch Braking Systems