FREUDENBERG ACQUIRES BURGMANN DICHTUNGSWERKE / FREUDENBERG AND BURGMANN TO BENEFIT JOINTLY FROM GLOBAL MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

Wolfratshausen/Weinheim 4. 3. 2004 (PROTEXT/ots) -Freudenberg & Co., Weinheim, has acquired large sections ofBurgmann Dichtungswerke in Wolfratshausen, particularly thoserelating to the mechanical seals, expansion joints and automotivebusiness, and is thus expanding its seals activities. "With theacquisition, we are implementing our strategy to grow outside ofthe automotive sector in a technologically demanding market,"said Dr. Peter Stehle, Member of the Management Board ofFreudenberg & Co. Burgmann, which was established 120 years ago,is headquartered in Wolfratshausen, Bavaria. Last year, thecompany had a global workforce of some 3,300 associates, 1,100of whom were employed at the German sites in Wolfratshausen andEurasburg and the company's service centers. With sales of some292 million Euro (2002), Burgmann is one of the world's leadingmechanical seals producers and the market leader in Germany. Theparties have agreed to keep the purchase price confidential. TheFederal Cartel Office has approved the deal. The company is nowcalled Burgmann Industries GmbH & Co. KG.

"For us, Freudenberg is an ideal partner, and we can joinforces to benefit from the opportunities the market has tooffer," said Prof. Elmar Baur, Chief Executive Officer ofBurgmann. Freudenberg has considerable experience in the fieldof sealing technology and together with its long-standing partnerEagle Industry, the leading Japanese mechanical seals producer,has the potential to strengthen and expand Burgmann activitieson the international stage.

Burgmann was founded in Dresden in 1884 as a company tradingin technical articles. The young enterprise produced innovativemechanically braided impregnated stuffing boxes and developedinto a major seals producer over the coming decades. Today, thecompany's main product line is mechanical seals, which are usedto seal rotating machinery, providing a reliable seal attemperatures ranging from -190şC to +450şC and pressures of up to450 bar.

After the Second World War, the business moved to StarnbergerSee. Until its acquisition by Freudenberg, the company was ownedby the Burgmann family. It is an economically successfulenterprise and has recorded annual sales growth of more than 9%during the past few years. The sale is motivated by growingconcentration on world markets as well as provisions in the willof Feodor Burgmann, who died in 1988. Under the terms of thewill the Administrative Board, acting as executor, follows thedevelopment of the company until 2008 and decides on long-termdevelopments jointly with the heirs.

Burgmann Industries is one of ten independent operativeBusiness Groups in the Freudenberg Group. Burgmann Industrieswill be managed by Prof. Elmar Baur (former Burgmann ChiefExecutive Officer) and Dr. Walter Steinbach. They will besupported by Managing Director Christoph Mosmann and JochenStrasser, who will act as Deputy Managing Director.

Freudenberg is an internationally active family company witha broad product range spanning seals and vibration controlcomponents, nonwovens, floor coverings and mechanical householdcleaning products (vileda(r)) through to specialty lubricants."We have been active in the seals business for many years, withthe focus on the automotive industry and the general industrysector, and have always been looking for an opportunity to roundoff our range with high- quality mechanical seals," said Dr.Peter Stehle, Member of the Management Board of Freudenberg &Co. Excluding Burgmann Industries, Freudenberg records sales inthe seals and vibration control technology segment of more than 2billion Euro. The Freudenberg Group reported sales of some 4billion Euro and employs 28,000 associates at 140 sites aroundthe world.

ots Original Text Service: Freudenberg & Co. Internet:http://www.presseportal.de

Pressekontakt: For further information, please contact:Wolfgang Orians Freudenberg & Co. Corporate Communications Phone:+49 (0)6201-80 66 16 Fax: +49 (0)6201-88 34 30wolfgang.orians@freudenberg.de

Ellen Klier Burgmann Industries Public Relations Phone: +49(0)8171-231453 Fax: +49 (0)8171-231095

Subscribers please note that material bearing the slug"PROTEXT" is not part of CTK's news service and is not to bepublished under the "CTK" slug. Protext is a commercial serviceproviding distribution of press releases from clients, who areidentified in the text of Protext reports and who bear fullresponsibility for their contents. PROTEXT