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UT Automotive Opens Operation in Tunisia

6 April 1998

UT Automotive Enters Africa With New Operation in Tunisia

    BORJ CEDRIA, Tunisia, April 6 -- UT Automotive, a United
Technologies company, today signaled its entry into the continent of Africa
with the grand opening of a new 3,000 m2 wire harness manufacturing facility
in Tunisia.
    "UT Automotive is very excited to open our first facility in northern
Africa," said Volker Heuzeroth, president of UT Automotive - Europe. "By
expanding our operation to Tunisia, we once again are proving that we are
willing to support our customers anywhere in the world.  Equally, we continue
to count on their support in the form of incremental business as we grow our
operations in Tunisia."
    UT Automotive - Europe, which will oversee the operation in Tunisia,
opened the facility to support a customer's efforts to increase its sales in
northern Africa.
    Georges Messien will serve as general manager of the facility, which is
located in Borj Cedria, about 20 kilometers from the Tunisian capital of
Tunis.
    The plant began operations in January with about 30 people and currently
has about 100 employees.  However, plans call for doubling the number of
employees as well as the size of the facility by the end of the year.
    With 100,000 residents in the area and a high unemployment rate, the UT
Automotive facility not only will serve its customers' needs, but also the
economic needs of the Borj Cedria region.
    "We welcome the opening of the new UT Automotive plant in Borj Cedria,"
said Fethi Merdassi, Tunisia's Secretary of State of International and Foreign
Investment. "Thanks to UT Automotive's expansion into Tunisia, new jobs are
being created and our economy is enriched with a new generation of technology-
based companies.  We believe UTA's investment will encourage other
multinational companies to look at Tunisia as an opportunity for expansion."
    UT Automotive is a $3 billion tier-one supplier of electrical, electronic
and interior trim systems and components to car and light truck manufacturers.
Based in Dearborn, Mich., the company has 40,000 employees and 90
manufacturing, engineering, sales and marketing facilities in 18 countries in
North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.
    UT Automotive - Europe has more than 12,000 employees and more than 20
manufacturing, engineering, sales and marketing facilities in France, Germany,
Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as
Tunisia in northern Africa.  European headquarters are in Paris.
    UT Automotive is a subsidiary of Hartford, Conn.-based United Technologies
Corp. , which provides a broad range of high-technology products
and services to the aerospace, building systems and automotive industries.

SOURCE  United Technologies Automotive