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Hawtal Whiting Announces Leadership Change

26 May 1998

Hawtal Whiting Announces Leadership Change for North American Operations: Expanding Global Network

    DETROIT, May 26 -- Following a decade of remarkable corporate
growth and success, David F. Jones will be retiring as president of Hawtal
Whiting (HW), North American Operations (NAO) and turning over the reigns of
leadership to Andy Tempest, current Chief Operating Officer of HWNAO.
    Effective June 26, 1998, Jones will retire culminating a career spanning
nearly 50 years in engineering and management -- 14 years with Hawtal Whiting.
He was named president of the North American Operations division, the largest
division of the United Kingdom based Hawtal Whiting Plc., in 1992.
    During his tenure as president, the engineering, design, and project
management company essentially grew from zero to 1,000 employees and opened
six facilities throughout southeast Michigan and in Canada.
    Jones successor, Andy Tempest, offers a strong financial, commercial, and
marketing background having served in finance management positions for Lotus
Cars, England and more recently as chief operating officer for Hawtal Whiting.
    "Dave (Jones) built our North American Operations from the ground up --
demonstrating to our customer base that Hawtal Whiting is a major player in
the marketplace ... I'm fortunate to be in a position of taking over the
leadership at such a fortuitous time in our period of corporate growth," said
Tempest.
    Focusing on the further globalization of Hawtal Whiting, Tempest has
established an aggressive strategy for expansion and growth into various
markets globally.  "I plan to continue building on our strong foundation that
Dave established and vigorously moving into the global marketplace with an
agenda that addresses the needs of our customers, our employees, and our
partnerships," remarked Tempest.
    Addressing the challenge of his North American Operations global advances,
Tempest emphasizes four areas which he feels are paramount to a successful
program:

    Global Expansion -- Into world markets such as Mexico and Brazil
    Communications -- Seamless computer data transfer; continued upgrading
    Partnerships -- OEM & Tier I -- Enter into partnerships that will greatly
benefit customer-base and enhance Hawtal Whiting capabilities
      People -- Continue to provide training and skills enrichment to Hawtal
Whiting employees to ensure superior quality for customers

    "We will be focusing in these areas of growth over the next ten years in
an effort to maximize our presence in the world market and build upon the
outstanding reputation we've enjoyed during the last decade," added Tempest.
    Hawtal Whiting Holdings Plc. is a world-wide, 1,500 member strong, full
service product development resource providing competitive design,
engineering, and product development services to the automotive,
transportation, industrial, and consumer product industries.
    The North American Operations consists of six locations.  In Michigan:
Troy, Pontiac, Flint, Dearborn, and Livonia; and an office in Windsor, Canada.