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Hayes Lemmerz Acquires Majority Control of South African Wheel Company

4 June 1998

Hayes Lemmerz Acquires Majority Control of South African Wheel Company

    ROMULUS, Mich., June 4 -- To meet increasing demand for its
wheels from auto manufacturers across the globe, Hayes Lemmerz International,
Inc. , the world's leading supplier of wheels to the global market
since 1908, today announced that it has exercised an option to purchase
majority control of Automotive Overseas Investments (Pty) Ltd., the company
which owns and operates NF Die Casting (Pty) Ltd., a producer of cast aluminum
wheels for the automotive industry in South Africa and for export to
international markets.
    Terms of this acquisition were not disclosed.  NF Die Casting's facility,
located near Johannesburg, has annual capacity of 700,000 wheels.  Annual
sales are approximately $30 million and major customers include Mercedes, VW,
BMW, Audi, Ford, Mazda, Honda, Nissan, and Toyota.
    On March 4, 1998, Hayes Lemmerz announced that it had acquired a minority
stake of 35% in Automotive Overseas Investment.  Since then, Hayes Lemmerz has
assisted AOI in increasing manufacturing efficiencies and capacity to meet
regional and global demand in South Africa, the African continent, Europe and
South America.
    "Gaining majority control provides us with the necessary capacity to
continue our growth strategy in this region and to meet our customer demands
across the globe," said Giancarlo Dallera, President of Hayes' European
aluminum wheel business.  "We look forward to continuing to work with partners
Anglo American Industrial Corporation and Industrial Development Corporation
of South Africa, as this venture is an important part of our worldwide
strategy for the global automotive industry."
    Hayes Lemmerz International, Inc., with annual sales of over $1.5 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 has more than
8,500 employees and 25 manufacturing facilities in nine countries worldwide.