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New Venture Gear's Muncie Transmission Wins New Business w/GM

10 March 1999

New Venture Gear's Muncie Transmission Division Wins New Business From General Motors

    TROY, Mich., March 9 -- New Venture Gear, Inc. (NVG) and
Visteon have been awarded a contract by General Motors Corp. , to
supply an All-Wheel-Drive system for future model year vehicles.
    NVG's Muncie, Indiana, facility will assemble and manufacture some of the
major driveline components.  The business is the first of its kind for the
plant.  The Muncie Division currently produces manual transmissions for trucks
and assembles and manufactures differential units for passenger cars.
    "Winning this important new business is significant.  It marks a turn in a
new and exciting direction," said Jack Wagner, NVG Vice President and Plant
Manager.  "This is great news that will energize this plant and the Muncie
community and our employees."
    Ron Murphy, UAW Local 499 President, added: "This collective effort is a
testament that when business, government and labor work together to reach a
common goal, great things can happen."
    The announcement follows a nearly two-year-long restructuring program
initiated with an agreement by the Company and the membership of UAW Local
499.  The restructuring initiatives and the implementation of lean
manufacturing processes have helped make the plant more efficient.  According
to Wagner, the plant will be profitable this year as a result of those
initiatives.
    "The plant and the Union membership should be very proud of what we've
accomplished to turn this facility around," said Mike Jones, Bargaining
Chairman for UAW Local 499.  "The decisions that had to be made were
difficult.  But as a result, we have gone from a plant facing extinction two
years ago, to one of growth and expansion.  The potential for this new work is
tremendous.  This product is the future of driveline technology.  Three cheers
for Muncie!"
    New Venture Gear is the world's leading designer and manufacturer of
four-wheel-drive transfer cases, and a leading manufacturer of manual
transmissions, automotive traction control devices, and driveline systems.