Schaeffler Group Industrial Prepares for More Growth-Personnel change in board of directors of FAG Kugelfischer AG

Schaeffler Group Industrial Prepares for More Growth Integration enables powerful organization in the Industrial Division / Personnel change in board of directors of FAG Kugelfischer AG / Robert Schullan appointed as board chairman Integration efforts consolidating the industrial activities of FAG Kugelfischer AG (Schweinfurt) and INA-Schaeffler KG (Herzogenaurach) have been successfully completed for the Schaeffler Group Industrial Division, and the new common structure is now in place. "In creating this powerful organization we will be able to add significant muscle to our global competitive capabilities, which is characterized by structural changes," said Dr. J¨¹rgen M. Geißinger, President and CEO of FAG Kugelfischer AG and INA-Holding Schaeffler KG. He added: "The new Schaeffler Group structure has clear functional responsibilities for all member companies, and this is the basis for our global efforts to strengthen our innovative power, flexibility and speed." Over the past few months, the Schaeffler Group has introduced identical organizational structures at INA, FAG and LuK. Against the background of reorganization efforts in the Schaeffler Group Industrial Division, effective March 1, 2004, the FAG supervisory board has appointed Robert Schullan as chairman of the board of FAG Kugelfischer AG (FAG). The previous board chairman, Dr. J¨¹rgen M. Geißinger, will assume the duties of chairman of the supervisory board of FAG Kugelfischer AG. In addition, Hans-J¨¹rgen Goslar has been appointed as a new member of the FAG board of directors as well as a new executive vice president at INA-Schaeffler KG (INA). Goslar, previously employed at Conti Teves, will assume responsibility for Engineering for the entire Schaeffler Group Industrial Division and the FAG Business Unit Wheel Bearings. Other new members appointed to the FAG board of directors include Dirk Fellermann for Finance and Klaus Widmaier for Human Resources. John Mc Closkey will continue to head the Aerospace/ Superprecision division. Dr. Gerhard Vogel, 55, Finance and Employment officer on the FAG directors board, and J¨¹rgen Dittert, 53, FAG board member in charge of Human Resources and Facility Management, will leave the company following successful integration as was agreed. The supervisory board would like to thank both gentlemen for their commitment and successful efforts for the company. They performed outstanding service for FAG, especially during the integration period. Robert Schullan (45), executive vice president at INA-Schaeffler KG, has been in charge of the Industrial and Distribution divisions at INA-Schaeffler KG since 1998. After joining INA-Schaeffler KG in 1985, Schullan held various managerial positions in Sales and Application Engineering and contributed greatly to the positive development of these two company departments. For over a year now, he has also been responsible for Industrial Sales at FAG Kugelfischer AG. Hans-J¨¹rgen Goslar (53) previously worked for Continental Teves, where he last served as company vice president in charge of the Continental Automotive Systems division for the Asia-Pacific region. Since 2001, Klaus Widmaier (46) has been Human Resources manager at INA company headquarters in Herzogenaurach, whose 7,500 employees make it the largest Schaeffler Group location. Before joining INA, Widmaier held managing positions at Porsche. Dirk Fellermann (47) has been with FAG since 1977 and is thus regarded as an old hand at FAG and most recently was in charge of the Finance & Accounting department. These personnel changes complete the reorganization process in the Industrial Division. It is particularly in this division that FAG's and INA's product ranges complement each other in an ideal way, offering benefits for the customer. Four group-wide application groups have been implemented: production machinery, heavy industry, power transmission and rail technology as well as consumer products. Sales has also been consolidated: "In bringing these resources together, we wanted to consolidate our expertise and offer our customers even better support and service," said Robert Schullan. "Our experience has been extraordinarily positive." With its focal points of activity in the industrial (INA, FAG) and automotive (INA, LuK, FAG) sectors, the Schaeffler Group is among the leading manufacturers of rolling bearings worldwide and is one of the top global suppliers for the automotive industry. Over the past few years, the Schaeffler Group has enjoyed good success despite difficult economic conditions. For the 2003 fiscal year, the 54,000-employee-strong Schaeffler Group achieved previous-year sales totaling 7 billion euros. Significant factors for the Schaeffler Group's success include qualified employees, global customer focus, efficient manufacturing technologies for precision products, innovative power and quality.