AIT President and COO Purser Retiring

AIT President and COO Purser Retiring Bill Purser, President and COO of Applied Industrial Technologies announced he will retire at the end of 2007. Mr. Purser has been in his current position since late 2000. Among many other accomplishments, Mr. Purser was instrumental in championing AIT's early move to put electronic cataloging on the Internet -- a move since mirrored by most large bearing and power transmission distributors. Ben Mondics will replace Mr. Purser as of January 1, 2008; in the interim, he has been named to the positions of Executive Vice President and COO. An alumnus of SKF, Mr. Mondics jointed AIT in 1994 and is currently the company's Midwest Area VP. Chairman and CEO, David Pugh, said: "Bill has been instrumental in leading Applied to new heights in sales and earnings during his tenure as President and Chief Operating Officer. He is unquestionably one of the true leaders in our industry. In announcing his intention to retire, we are grateful that he has chosen to stay for the remainder of the year to ensure a smooth transition."