Three news about FAG

a)2005 Hannover Fair : Schaeffler Group Industrial Strengthens Management Team HANNOVER/HERZOGENAURACH/SCHWEINFURT, April 13, 2005. In addition to major investments in machines and production processes, the Schaeffler Group's Industrial Division is also strengthening its organization. Dr. Arbogast Grunau, former head of Central Engineering of INA-Schaeffler KG at Herzogenaurach, assumed overall responsibility for Development within Schaeffler Group Industrial. The new sector has been established to focus the overall R&D activities of the industrial division and accelerate the advance development and design of innovative products. Further personnel reassignments also underline the will to achieve continued development and strengthening of the industrial division. Reiner Thalacker, formerly managing director of INA's successful Linear Technology business unit based at Homburg/Saar, has been responsible for the INA/FAG industry segment "Consumer Products" since the beginning of this year. His predecessor in this position, Mr. Mike Natusch, was appointed head of Engineering for the whole of North America. Both Dr. Grunau and Mr. Thalacker are located at Schweinfurt, which is the headquarters of the Schaeffler Group's Industrial Division. Mr. Stephan Hantke, formerly head of Application Engineering, succeeds Reiner Thalacker as head of Linear Technology. He is based at Homburg/Saar. b)F¡¯IS und National Instruments legen Grundstein f¨¹r die nächste Generation von Condition-Monitoring-Systemen Co-operation for further development of the proven F¡¯IS online monitoring systems on the basis of NI CompactRIO - Condition Monitoring for worldwide use in early defect detection and quality assurance HANNOVER/HERZOGENRATH/MUNICH, April 13, 2005 ¨C FAG Industrial Services GmbH (F¡¯IS) and National Instruments (NI) based in Austin (Texas) will in future work together to develop Condition Monitoring systems. Within this partnership, the two companies will combine their individual expertise in the areas of measurement hardware and software (on the part of NI) and Condition Monitoring applications and system developments (on the part of F¡¯IS). Building on the existing successful systems and many years of experience of F¡¯IS in vibration diagnosis, F¡¯IS will develop the next generation of Condition Monitoring systems on the basis of the NI platforms LabVIEW and CompactRIO. Permanent Condition Monitoring is the most reliable method for early damage detection. The use of CM minimises downtime and allows planning of maintenance. Costly secondary damage can also be avoided. Initial results are to be presented next year. F¡¯IS has made a name for itself worldwide through the use of vibration and temperature monitoring systems and the associated diagnosis. Systems supplied by its maintenance experts are used to monitor cruise ships and oil platforms as well as gold mines, paper mills and cement plants. In cold rolling plant for steel and aluminium production in particular, Condition Monitoring systems are making an increasing contribution to quality assurance. They make it possible to prevent chatter marks ¨C barely measurable thickness variations caused by resonance vibrations ¨C that lead to significantly impaired quality of steel and aluminium sheet. With its monitoring system WiPro (Wind Turbine Protection) developed specially for the wind power industry, F¡¯IS has one of the few Condition Monitoring systems on the market that fulfils the stringent requirements of the Allianz Centre for Technology (AZT) for the use of such systems in wind turbines. National Instruments (NASDAQ: NATI) is one pf the leading manufacturers of measuring equipment software and hardware for PCs and workstations. The Company is a pioneer in measurement and automation technology and a market leader in virtual instrumentation. This concept has fundamentally changed the implementation of measurement and automation solutions by engineers and scientists. Through the use of commercial applied technologies (PC, Internet etc.), virtual instrumentation can reduce the costs of measurement, management and control applications at the same time as increasing system performance, accuracy and reliability. The use of easily integrated software packages such as the graphics-based development environment LabVIEW and modular hardware such as PXI modules assist in data capture, equipment control and industrial image processing. In Germany, the Company is represented by National Instrument Germany GmbH in Munich. FAG Industrial Services GmbH (F¡¯IS) Since the beginning of 2001, FAG Kugelfischer AG & Co. oHG, a member of the Schaeffler Group, has concentrated its independent service business in FAG Industrial Services GmbH (F¡¯IS) based in Herzogenrath, near Aachen. As an autonomous company F¡¯IS offers, independent of manufacturer, services and service products for maintenance activities. F¡¯IS thus helps its customers to save on maintenance costs, optimise plant availability and prevent unexpected machine downtime. C) Schaeffler Group: Success in a difficult environment Dr. J¨¹rgen M. Geißinger: "Growth depends on the courage to make changes" - Innovative strength and integration as success factors - Weak demand and stagnation in Germany - Structural change requires ongoing measures to maintain competitiveness - 500 new jobs created in Germany in 2004 HANNOVER/HERZOGENAURACH, April 13, 2005. "The business performance of the Schaeffler Group was positive overall in 2004, despite some disappointments", was the verdict of Dr. J¨¹rgen M. Geißinger, CEO of the Schaeffler Group, on the business year 2004 at a press conference during the Hannover Fair. Group sales increased by 300 millions euros from 6,9 billion to 7,2 billion euros. As for the companies comprising the Group, INA increased sales by 100 million euros from 3,2 to 3,3 billion euros, FAG by some 100 million euros to 2,3 billion euros and LuK by a good 100 million euros to 1,6 billion euros. The Group thus grew by about 4,5% compared to the business year 2003. Dr. Geißinger expected clear momentum this year as well, not least as a result of the optimised corporate structure in the Automotive, Industrial and Aerospace Divisions. In 2004, the Automotive Division achieved sales of 4,2 billion euros with its brands INA, FAG, LuK and Aftermarket Service. "Overall, we are driving forward the Schaeffler Group as an integrated unit across Company and national boundaries." This was also the background to the formal legal merger of FAG Kugelfischer AG & Co. oHG and INA-Schaeffler KG in Germany to form Schaeffler KG, effective from the beginning of 2006. The division Schaeffler Group Industrial (together with Aerospace) - with its main brands INA and FAG - achieved sales of some 3 billion euros. Due to a number of internal product transfers, numerical comparisons with 2003 are not possible, explained Robert Schullan, Vice President, Schaeffler Group Industrial. In the last business year 2004, the growth regions in both the automotive and industrial sectors were clearly Asia, especially China, India and South Korea as well as Eastern and Central Europe together with North America. In North America, the market recovered significantly after an extended lean patch. In particular, the automotive market in China and India as well as the commercial vehicle and aftermarket sectors were responsible for the clear impetus. Industrial business benefited, in particular in the sectors covering mining, steel and wind power, from construction and infrastructure projects in Eastern and Central Europe as well as Asia. In these sectors, there was some examples of double digit growth for the first time. In contrast, the picture was weaker on deliveries to the textile machinery sector, which is migrating to Asia, "with the associated consequences for us as suppliers", said Herr Schullan. Development in Western Europe was both regrettable and disappointing. Growth was weak at best, with stagnation in some cases. There was also enormous price pressure on both standard products and components for the automotive supply industry. "We find ourselves in the middle of unprecedented structural change, with strong trends towards displacement and transfers", stressed Dr. Geißinger. In general, the more standardised the product, the greater the pressure for transfer. Some competitors had already transferred some time ago and would now, together with noname suppliers from Eastern Europe and Asia, put the Schaeffler under severe price pressure on standard products. The problem of steel shortages and exploding prices intensified the need to opti-mise the Company's processes and products and above all to reduce production costs. The Company had therefore taken extensive measures to increase competitiveness. These include: - Further increases in investment from 600 million euros (2004) to 700 million euros for 2005 - Reduction in labour costs at German sites by extended working time and process optimi-sation - Establishment and expansion of production facilities in low labour cost countries - Increase in R&D efforts and patent applications We are doing everything we can to secure as many jobs as possible at our German sites, emphasised Dr. Geißinger, "but we need low cost sites un order to maintain the competitiveness of our products through a cost mix." Cross-subsidisation of products that can no longer be manufactured at market prices in Germany were not an option. This would endanger the essence of the Company in the medium term. Dr. Geißinger demanded an opening up of the fossilised structures in Germany in order to secure and create jobs through increased growth. There was no magic formula but just extending negotiated working hours without adjusting pay could, together with more efficient processes, significantly increase the competitiveness of numerous companies and secure jobs in Germany. This was illustrated by the example of the INA Lahr site. Together with the Plant Management, employees had taken up the initiative and agreed to the extension of working hours without a change in income. After the unavoidable transfer of standard rolling bearings, it was now possible to institute competitive production for high tech engine components. The Schaeffler Group will invest over 60 million euros there in the next three years. Dr. Geißinger demanded the courage to make changes as a means of returning the German economy to the path of growth. He named examples from education, bureaucracy and pay and employment law. "In our education system, sciences must regain a higher priority. We need education instead of subsidies." More energy must be devoted to dismantling bureaucracies than to building them up. There was an excessive degree of regulation and duties that were crippling our society and its companies. "It is only then that there will be new jobs", said Dr. Geißinger. Despite various personnel measures and transfers to low cost countries in the last year, the Schaeffler Group has created over 500 jobs in Germany. Abroad, the growth is significantly higher at 3000 jobs. The Group now employs some 58 000 people in over 80 plants and 50 countries. "By building production facilities in China, Korea and India we are expanding our product range for the rapidly growing market there", said Dr. Geißinger. Accelerated growth is of course the goal, with the aid of new and innovative products from the areas of rolling bearings, linear and direct drive technology and Condition Monitoring. In addition to further products from the successfully established X-life quality brand, the Schaeffler Group is presenting its products and service highlights over ten subject islands and an area of more than 850 m². All products are presented under the motto "Added value for our customers". These include intelligent mechatronic systems, X-life high performance bearings with extended life, multifunctional linear units and all the tools needed for conditionbased maintenance. "We must offer the customer service from A to Z", said Herr Schullan. "Anyone who today only sells rolling bearings will find it difficult tomorrow to get his products accepted. The requirement to supply premium quality had to be applied in all areas. The combination of complementary products and the concentrated knowhow of the three companies gave an even more effective offer that was valued by customers. "With innovative products, optimised processes and our courage to make changes, I am optimistic that we can achieve a further significant increase in our growth in 2005", said Dr. Geißinger. The Schaeffler Group has approximately 58 000 employees at more than 180 locations worldwide and sales of 7,2 billion euros (2004). It is a leading rolling bearing manufacturer and automotive component supplier. The Group of companies comprises the INA Group based in Herzogenaurach, the FAG Group based in Schweinfurt and the LuK Group based in B¨¹hl/Baden.