---

Freudenberg-NOK's Cleveland Facility Receives Gold Award

6 June 2000

DaimlerChrysler Corp. Gold Awards Freudenburg-NOK Facility

    PLYMOUTH, Mich. - In regcognition of meeting or exceeding stringent 
standards for supplying DaimlerChrysler Corp. with gaskets, seals and chassis 
products, Freudenberg-NOK's Cleveland, Ga. facility was recently presented with
the automaker's Gold Award for the fourth year in a row.

    The award -- formerly called the Gold Pentastar Award -- recognizes
suppliers who consistently achieve world-class performance in the areas of
customer support, quality, delivery and minority sourcing.

    The Freudenberg-NOK facility in Manchester, N.H. also received the Gold
Award for the fourth consecutive year.

    "We are very pleased to receive this prestigious award in recognition of
the efforts of our associates in Cleveland," said Richard E. Allen, CEO of
Freudenberg-NOK's Automotive Sector.  "Through an on-going commitment to our
company-wide lean systems program -- called GROWTTH -- our overall defective
parts per million (PPM) rates have dropped to less than 100 and as the company
continues to improve its processes through kaizen activities, we have targeted
PPM rates this year of 25 or less."

    Opened in 1989 by Freudenberg-NOK, the Cleveland facility was the first
plant built specifically for one-piece flow manufacturing and was the
birthplace for the entire company's successful lean initiatives.  The plant
produces valve stem seals, crankshaft seals, camshaft seals, transmission
shaft seals and powertrain oil seals.  The 150,000-square-foot plant is QS-
9000 certified and employs approximately 500 associates.

    Plymouth, Mich.-based Freudenberg-NOK is part of the Freudenberg and NOK
Group Companies, which have total annual sales of nearly $7.0 billion.  With
global automotive sales of approximately $4 billion, the Freudenberg and NOK
Group ranks among the world's top 20 automotive suppliers and is one of only
eight in the top 100 that has global balance in each of the three major
automotive markets -- Asia, Europe and North America.

    Through a global network of facilities spanning 27 countries with some
23,000 automotive employees worldwide, the supplier group offers its
automotive customers globally integrated products, including sealing packages
for transmissions, engines, brakes, axles and steering, NVH (noise, vibration
and harshness) components and packages, 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.