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Freudenberg-NOK Creates New Business Development Group

18 February 1999

Freudenberg-NOK Creates New Business Development Group, Names VanAlstyne as VP to Lead Expansion of Product Portfolio

    PLYMOUTH, Mich., Feb. 18 -- To fuel steady, stable growth,
Freudenberg-NOK has recently created the New Business Development group, which
will leverage the company's core competencies to develop and commercialize new
products and solutions for its customers in the Americas.
    According to Joseph C. Day, Freudenberg-NOK president and CEO, these new
products will be developed at several of the company's facilities, including
its new Technology Center in Plymouth, Mich.  Freudenberg-NOK also will
continue to adapt product developments to the American market from within the
Freudenberg and NOK Group -- Freudenberg & Co. of Germany and NOK Corp. of
Japan.
    In conjunction with the creation of this new group, Freudenberg-NOK has
named John S. VanAlstyne as vice president and general manager - New Business
Development.  He will be responsible for commercializing several new product
lines, as well as identifying additional product-line extension opportunities.
VanAlstyne and his team also will be supporting advanced product development
with marketing and sales expertise.
    Most recently, VanAlstyne was Freudenberg-NOK's senior vice president of
automotive sales, responsible for directing sales and marketing activities
with all vehicle manufacturers and tier suppliers in North America.  He has
served in various positions at Freudenberg-NOK since 1992.  Prior to joining
the company, he spent five years with Solvay Automotive in Troy, Mich.
    VanAlstyne earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from Western Michigan
University and a master's degree in business administration from Michigan
State University's Broad Graduate School of Management - Executive MBA
Program.  He is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE).
    Plymouth, Mich.-based Freudenberg-NOK is part of the Freudenberg and NOK
Group Companies, which have total annual sales of more than $6 billion.  With
global automotive sales of approximately $3.5 billion, the Freudenberg and NOK
Group ranks among the world's top 25 independent automotive suppliers.
    Through a global network of facilities spanning 24 countries with some
23,000 automotive employees worldwide, the supplier group offers its
automotive customers globally integrated products, including total sealing
packages for transmissions, engines, brakes and steering, NVH (noise,
vibration and harshness) components and modules, and all rubber, plastic and
PTFE components for suspension, electrical and fuel systems.
    The Freudenberg and NOK Group also offers an extensive portfolio of
precision-molded products for the aerospace, appliance, business machine,
fluid power, marine, medical, off-highway equipment and recreational vehicle
markets.  For more information, visit the Freudenberg-NOK web site at
http://www.freudenberg-nok.com.