MANAGEMENT CHANGES ANNOUNCED AT AUTO SUPPLIER BEHR

STUTTGART, Germany - The Behr Group announced today that Horst Geidel, 63, will retire from his position as CEO and management board chairman on June 30 and assume the position of chairman of the companys supervisory board.

For Immediate Release

MANAGEMENT CHANGES ANNOUNCED AT AUTO SUPPLIER BEHR

STUTTGART, Germany, Feb. 6, 2003 -- The Behr Group announced today that Horst Geidel, 63, will retire from his position as CEO and management board chairman on June 30 and assume the position of chairman of the companys supervisory board.

Dr. Markus Flik, 42, will succeed Geidel as the companys chief executive officer. He has been a member of the Behr Groups board of management since 1997 and currently is responsible for research and development, as well as Behrs engine cooling product division.

Headquartered in Stuttgart, Behr is a leading supplier of air conditioning and engine cooling systems for the automotive industry. In North America, the company has more than 3,000 employees at facilities in Troy and Webberville, Michigan; Dayton, Ohio; Charleston, South Carolina; Canton, South Dakota, and Fort Worth, Texas.

Geidel will succeed Dr. h.c. Walther Zuegel, as chairman of the supervisory board. Zuegel will remain as deputy chairman of the supervisory board. In addition, Rudi Ludwig, 54, will leave the Behr Group on April 30, 2003, to take over a new management position in the business sector. Klemens Schmiederer, 43, and Dr. Andreas Thumm, 42, will become deputy members of Behrs board of management effective July 1, 2003.

As of July 1, 2003, the members of the companys board of management will be:
·   Dr. Markus Flik, (CEO), Sales, Customer Centers, Research and Development.
·   Hans-Joachim Lange, Behr America, North American Customer Centers. Lange also is president of Behr America, Inc.
·   Wolfgang Schaefer, Finance and Administration, Central Functions Germany.
·   Klemens Schmiederer (Deputy), Air Conditioning Product Division.
·   Dr. Andreas Thumm (Deputy), Engine Cooling Product Division.

The generational change at Behr guarantees continuity in our successful business policy," Geidel said. We will continue to be an innovative and reliable partner for vehicle manufacturers."

Horst Geidel studied business administration at the University of Munich and spent the first years of his career working for an accounting company before joining Behr in 1964. He became a member of the Behr management board in 1981 and has been CEO of the company since 1988.

Under his direction, Behr has developed from a medium-sized family company into an international specialist for automotive air conditioning and engine cooling, and is one of the leading original-equipment manufacturers for passenger and commercial vehicles. Today the company has more than 16,000 employees compared with 7,700 in 1988. Geidel pushed the Behr Group to become an international player. Sales abroad have increased tenfold since 1988. Total sales grew by five times in the same period and will exceed 3 billion euros for the first time in fiscal year 2003.

Geidel has developed both internal and external communications at the company and turned the Behrs corporate culture into a competitive advantage. His corporate strategies have built a traditional components supplier into a systems and module supplier for the automotive industry. Today, Behr is the technological leader in its market segments and a recognized development partner for manufacturers of passenger cars and trucks.

Geidel developed the concept of a virtual supplier group in the 1990s. Since then, Behr has been able to substantially expand its product competence as well as market presence through cooperation with partners. Some of Behrs most important partners today include the German lighting and electronics specialist Hella KG Hueck & Co., which works with Behr on electronics and large modules, and two Japanese companies that produce air conditioning compressors and engine cooling components, respectively.

Geidel also has focused on continually expanding the companys business in North America. The acquisition of Dayton Thermal Products in Ohio, a former DaimlerChrysler plant, in May 2002 has finally brought Behr into the major league of global suppliers.

Geidel has been a member of the board of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) since 1992 and of the Association for the Metal Industry in Southwest Germany. He also holds seats on the supervisory and advisory boards of several companies in the supplier and metal industries.

As chairman of the supervisory board, Geidel will continue to provide the Behr Group with assistance on strategic topics and serve as chairman of its U.S. companies.

Dr. Markus Flik studied mechanical engineering in Stuttgart, Zurich and Berkeley, California, where he was awarded his doctors degree in 1989. He later served as a member of the faculty of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Flik joined Behr in 1992, where he was initially head of strategic planning and later head of advanced engineering for air conditioning and also of A/C product development. He was appointed to the board of management in 1997.

Dr. Flik has championed the introduction of innovative management processes at Behr and considerably strengthened the companys advanced engineering capabilities, thus enabling Behr to expand its position as a technology leader. The company, for example, launched in 2002 the worlds first series-produced, four-zone air-conditioning module, allowing both driver and front- and rear-seat passengers to create their own personalized comfort zones.

Under Fliks direction the productivity of Behrs development processes has been substantially increased and a global cost and supplier management system installed. As a result, Behr has been able to strengthen its position significantly as a development partner to the automotive industry. Flik also has been the driving force behind activities aimed at developing the Japanese market. With the building of its Research and Development Center in Troy, Michigan, Behr has created the foundation for the technical integration of its recently acquired plant in Dayton, Ohio.

Flik is a member of several advisory boards for research associations and scientific journals.

With Dr. Markus Flik, a committed engineer and excellent manager has taken the helm of Behr," Geidel noted.

Rudi Ludwig has been a member of Behrs board of management since 1992 and is responsible for sales, customer centers and the air conditioning product division. In the past few years, he has successfully implemented a structure for customer centers at Behr and improved the companys market position.

We are sorry to lose Rudi Ludwig," Geidel said. He contributed greatly to the expansion of the companys customer base."

Klemens Schmiederer studied aeronautical and aerospace engineering in Stuttgart, and rounded out his studies in London before coming to Behr in 1987. Since then he has held positions in advanced engineering and product development, as well as in the engine cooling and air conditioning product divisions. He was the chief engineer of product development for four years at Behr in the U.S., and has been leading the air conditioning product line for Germany and overseas since 2000.

Dr. Andreas Thumm studied chemical engineering at the University of Stuttgart and received his doctors degree from the Institute for Aerodynamics and Gas Dynamics. He started at Behr in 1991 in product development and then moved to the U.S. for four years to work as a project manager, and later customer center manager. He has been responsible for engine cooling product lines since 1998. He currently leads the Behr product line for trucks, as well as the components product group in the engine cooling product division. Dr. Thumm is also managing director of Behr Czech s.r.o.

Both Mr. Schmiederer and Dr. Thumm have already proven themselves in various fields, have excellent qualifications and are ready for this new challenge, Geidel said.

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Behr GmbH & Co. KG is a systems partner for the international automobile industry. A specialist for automotive air conditioning and engine cooling systems, the Behr Group is one of the worlds leading manufacturers and suppliers of original equipment for passenger and commercial vehicles. Group sales in the 2002 business year came to approximately 2.8 billion euros. Currently Behr employs more than 16,000 people in 25 production facilities in Europe, North and South America, South Africa and India. Additional information is available on the Internet at www.behrgroup.com.

Note to Editors: Photos of Horst Geidel and Dr. Markus Flik, as well as other Behr Group photography are available through the media contacts listed below.

Media Contacts:

Indira Sadikovic
Behr America, Inc.
Phone: 248.743.3771
E-mail: Indira.sadikovic@us.behrgroup.com

Stephanie Reuter
BEHR GmbH & Co. KG
Director Group Communications
Mauserstrasse 3
D -- 70469 Stuttgart
Tel.: +49 711 -- 896 2645
Fax: +49 711 -- 896 2348
stephanie.reuter@behrgroup.com

Larry Weis
AutoCom Associates
Phone: 248.647.8621
E-mail: lweis@usautocom.com