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National-Standard Focuses Wire Cloth Business on Air Bag Market

18 November 1998

National-Standard Focuses Wire Cloth Business on Air Bag Market; Company Sells Battery & Hardboard Wire Cloth Business

    NILES, Mich., Nov. 17 -- National-Standard Company
announced today that it has signed a definitive purchase agreement
with Gerard Daniel & Co., Inc., Bedminster, NJ, for the sale of its battery
and hardboard cloth product lines, including wire weaving and plating
equipment from the Corbin, Kentucky facility.  Production in the remaining
industrial commercial wire cloth segments of this business will be
discontinued by the end of January 1999.  The Company had sales of
approximately $5 million of industrial-commercial cloth, generating a gross
margin loss of over $1 million.  Proceeds of the sale will be used to reduce
Company debt.
    "This action will allow us to focus on our air bag materials business,
including the production of nickel plated wire and wire cloth for air bag
filtration applications.  The Corbin facility will be retained as the producer
of high quality fine diameter wire for air bag filtration applications," said
President & CEO, Michael B. Savitske.  "We have made a concerted effort to
ensure ongoing customer support without supply interruption.  Each customer
will be contacted by the Corbin sales team to discuss the transition schedule.
Employment in the Corbin facility will be reduced from 121 to 31 total hourly
and salaried employees over the next several months."
    The Company believes that completion of these activities will have no
material adverse affect on its results in 1999.  Terms of the sale were not
disclosed.
    Corbin is one of six operations in the Company's Woven Filter Fiber
Division which supplies the world wide air bag market.  The other operations
are located in Clearfield, Utah; Mishawaka, Indiana; Mesa, Arizona; Moses
Lake, Washington, and Peterlee, United Kingdom.
    Founded in 1907, National-Standard is a Niles, Michigan based firm with
annual sales of approximately $225 million.  In ten operating facilities
throughout the world, the Company manufactures and distributes a broad range
of wire and wire-related products, including tire bead wire and welding wire,
in addition to wire cloth, fabricated filters and inflator housings for the
automotive air bag industry.
    This press release contains forward looking statements within the meaning
of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 relating to the future
manufacturing focus for the Corbin facility, ongoing customer support and
impact on the Company's 1999 results.  The ability of the Company to
successfully achieve these results, however, is subject to risks and
uncertainties including, but not limited to, the impact of competitive
products and pricing, changes in product demand by customers, availability and
cost of raw materials and changes in economic conditions.  Should any one or
more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, actual performance results
may vary materially.  The Company does not intend to update these forward
looking statements.