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GKN Sinter Metals Acquires Zenith Sintered Products

27 September 1999

GKN Sinter Metals Acquires Zenith Sintered Products In Move to Further Solidify Global Industry Leadership Position

Addition of Wisconsin-based P/M Parts Producer Broadens Automotive Offerings,
              Strengthens Portfolio in Industrial Small Engine,
                        Appliance & Hand Tool Markets

    AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Sept. 27 -- GKN Sinter Metals has
purchased privately owned Zenith Sintered Products, Inc., headquartered in
Germantown, Wisconsin.
    The announcement was made today by Seifi Ghasemi, President & Chief
Executive Officer of GKN Sinter Metals.
    While financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, the Company
said that Zenith Sintered Products generated fiscal year 1998 (ending Sep. 30)
sales of $61.4 million.  Net assets at the half year (Mar. 31, 1999) were
estimated to be $10.4 million.
    Zenith Sintered Products employs over 600 people at five Wisconsin plants
located in Germantown, Menomonee Falls and Manitowoc.  It has a strong
technology position in its key markets, which include the automotive,
industrial, home appliance, and hand tool sectors.
    According to Mr. Ghasemi, the Zenith acquisition is, "a major strategic
move which enables us to round out our automotive offerings and to strengthen
our product portfolio in other targeted industry segments."
    For the automotive industry, Zenith is a major supplier of main bearing
caps, used to guide an engine's crankshaft and thereby transfer motion from
the pistons to a vehicle's wheels.  "This is an important component that is
going to see rapid growth within the automotive market," said Mr. Ghasemi.
    Zenith's industrial customer base, which includes Briggs & Stratton,
In-Sink-Erator, and Tecumseh, "is a good fit with GKN Sinter Metals' non-
automotive business unit," said Mr. Ghasemi, "and provides us with an
opportunity to expose new customers to our range of process technologies."
    Tod Tanner, President & CEO of Zenith Sintered Products and son of the
company's late founder, Thomas H. Tanner, will join GKN Sinter Metals as a
consultant.
    According to Mr. Tanner, the decision to sell was driven by accelerated
growth in the powder metals industry and increased customer demand for
products.  "As a global corporation, GKN Sinter Metals has the financial
strength to support growth and maintain its leadership position in the
industry," he said.  "Our people will now have the ability to grow and develop
new products for an expanding number of customers worldwide."
    GKN Sinter Metals, with over 30 locations worldwide and business assets
spanning 13 countries and five continents, has sales in excess of $600 million
and is the world's largest producer of powder metal components.  The Company
employs more than 6,000 people and produces over 4,000 different parts for the
automotive, commercial vehicle, home appliance, lawn & garden, office
equipment, power tool, and recreational vehicle markets.  GKN Sinter Metals is
a wholly owned subsidiary of U.K.-based GKN plc, a global industrial company.