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LEAR CORPORATION OPENS PLANT IN PORTUGAL

30 May 2000

Lear Corporation Celebrates Ceremonial Opening of New Seat Trim Operation in Portugal LEAR CORPORATION Lear Corporation's plant in Palmela, Portugal, producing seat trim, and head and arm rests, is a multi-million dollar investment. (PRNewsFoto)[AG] PALMELA PRT 05/29/2000    

    PALMELA , Portugal , May 29 Lear Corporation , one of the world's largest automotive suppliers , today hosted the ceremonial
opening of a new automotive seat trim manufacturing facility in Palmela near
Lisbon.  Randall Carron , President - International Operations for Lear
Corporation , presided over the ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the automotive
supplier's major investment in Portugal.  Dr. Joaquim de Pina Moura , Minister
of Finance and Economy , was among the featured guests expected to participate
in the event.
    (Photo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000529/DEM001 )
    The 400,000 square-foot plant represents a multi-million dollar investment
by Lear and was partly funded by a Portuguese government grant.  Official
production of seat trim and head and arm rests for European vehicle
manufacturers began in Palmela late last year.  The facility employs
approximately 1,600 people in manufacturing , engineering and administrative
offices on a 30-acre site in the Palmela region.
    "This particular region is a growth area for the automotive sector and for
Lear , and the choice of this location was a combination of three key factors:
the people , the infrastructure and the economic attractiveness of the area,"
said Lear's Carron.  "The decision to invest in Portugal demonstrates Lear's
continued growth and supports our strategic expansion plans in Europe."
    Attending the ribbon cutting ceremony at the Palmela facility were the
plant's key customers and suppliers as well as local and state government
officials instrumental in bringing Lear to the region.
    Lear Corporation , a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Southfield , Mich.
(USA) , is one of the world's largest automotive suppliers with 1999 sales of
$12.4 billion.  The company's world-class products are designed , engineered
and manufactured by more than 120,000 employees in over 300 facilities located
in 33 countries.  Information about Lear and its products is available on the
Internet at http://www.lear.com