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National-Standard Company Sells U.K. Wire Operations

16 March 1999

National-Standard Company Reports Sale of U.K. Wire Operations

    NILES, Mich., March 15 -- National-Standard Company
announced today the sale of its wire operations in Kidderminster,
England to a local management group led by Alan Hopkins, Managing Director.
The new company will operate under the name N-S Europe Limited.  Included in
the sale is a license agreement for a ten-year period covering the right to
use National-Standard's carbon steel wire technology and certain
National-Standard trade names and marks.  Although details of the sale were
not announced, proceeds of the sale will retire approximately $3.4 million of
outstanding debt associated with the Kidderminster operation.
National-Standard will report a one-time gain on the transaction of $600,000
in its second fiscal quarter ending April 4, 1999.
    National-Standard has operated in the United Kingdom since 1928.  The
current factory was constructed in 1957 and now employs approximately 240
people in the manufacture of bead, weld and hose wire.  Sales from
Kidderminster in fiscal 1998 were $27.5 million.
    The U.K. management group will continue in the same lines of business,
tire bead wire, carbon steel welding wire, and brass plated carbon steel hose
reinforcing wire.  "It is our expectation that the two companies will
cooperate in technical developments and marketing activities in the future,"
said Michael B. Savitske, President and Chief Executive Officer.  "We're
delighted that Alan and his team were able to purchase the Kidderminster
operation and carry forward with the improvement projects they have started
over the past several years.  With the increasing global nature of commerce,
we look forward to participating with N-S Europe Limited in serving our common
customer base."
    "This doesn't mean that National-Standard is out of the U.K. and will only
be a U.S. business going forward.  The operation in Peterlee, England has been
established as a new separate subsidiary of the U.S. parent company,
National-Standard Company, and continues to serve the TRW facility at Mill
Hill with cut tubes for TRW's passenger side air bag inflator.  We're actively
pursuing additional air bag materials business in Europe."
    Founded in 1907, National-Standard is a Niles, Michigan based firm with
annual sales of approximately $225 million.  With operating facilities in the
United States and England, 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.  National-Standard is listed on the New York
Stock Exchange under the symbol "NSD."