NHBB President Elected Minebea Executive Officer

NHBB President Elected Minebea Executive Officer Gary Yomantas, President of New Hampshire Ball Bearings (USA, a division of Minebea Co. Ltd., Japan) has been elected an Executive Officer of Minebea by the company's Board of Directors. Mr. Yomantas becomes the first American to hold such a position at Minebea. Not only President of NHBB, Mr. Yomantas is also currently serving as Minebea¡¯s General Manager of Regional Affairs for North and South America, and as President of NMB USA (NHBB's direct parent company). He has been President of NHBB since 1993 and President of NMB USA since 2003. He is immediate past chairman of the ABMA. Parent Minebea is the world's largest manufacturer of miniature and precision instrument bearings with a 65% world market share of ball bearings 22mm and under. Minebea acquired New Hampshire Ball Bearings in 1984. Executive Officer positions were created by Minebea in 2003 when it reduced its board from 25 to 10, in an attempt to improve corporate governance and separate functional responsibilities from governance responsibilities. There are 25 Executive Officers within Minebea -- 10 at Mr. Yomantas' level -- reporting directly to President and CEO Takayuki Yamagishi. They are directly charged with overseeing operations at the corporation's 14 business units. All of the Senior Managing Executive Officers and Managing Executive Officers are Japanese, as are the other 9 Executive Officers, making Mr. Yomantas' appointment all the more noteworthy. Mr. Yomantas said: "My appointment as an Executive Officer of Minebea is a tremendous validation of my lifelong career within the Minebea family, and a great honor. I look forward to working more closely with the board and being part of the strategic planning and implementation for our worldwide group of companies."