Press Release - 11.19.02

Rhodia Engineering Plastics and Tec Air, Inc. Work in Partnership to Reduce Design and Development Time, Part Production Cycle Times, and Overall Cost on Engine Cooling Fan Assemblies

Farmington Hills, MI, Nov. 19, 2002 - As with other areas of the vehicle, under-the-hood systems and modules are undergoing constant scrutiny from automotive OEMs in an effort to improve on-vehicle performance, while still managing to gain productivity by reducing development and production cycle time, not to mention total system cost. The management of this equation is a difficult job and few companies know this kind of work better than Tec Air, Inc., headquartered in Willow Springs, IL. Tec Air is the leading manufacturer of blower wheels for automotive HVAC OEMs and also specializes in automotive power train cooling fans. TEC AIR also manufactures fans, blower wheels and blower assemblies for appliance, home and garden, and commercial applications.

"Our specialty is the design and manufacture of injection molded air movement parts, including the development of the necessary automated processes that give us an extra edge against our competition," said Bob McMurtry, President of Tec Air. "Our policy is to form technical partnerships with our key materials suppliers, and they have to bring their own solutions on cost, performance and productivity to the table in order for both of us to succeed," he added.

"We've had a particularly good partnership with Rhodia Engineering Plastics on the development and manufacture of the Engine Cooling Fan Assembly we supply to Behr America. It's a 22" diameter part weighing in at around five pounds, and it is now in production on GM's GMT-360 platform (GM Trailblazer, Olds Bravada, and GMC Envoy SUVs). Rhodia worked with us on the material science, provided CAE tools to help define and optimize the process, and also provided mold flow analysis to speed the tooling process," commented McMurtry.

"I'd estimate that we cut 25 - 30% off the normal development time for this type of part, and all the pre-engineering work Rhodia did helped us to specify and select the capital equipment best suited for the production of this part. As an added bonus, by being able to optimize the capital equipment for this part design, we have seen part manufacturing cycle time improvements of almost 20%."

Tec Air purchased two new 730 Ton Van Dorn Spectra Injection Molding machines for use in its Willow Springs, IL and Lewisburg, TN facilities specifically for this application. The new machines are outfittedwith STAR Automation robots and automated material handling systems and form completely automated work cells.

Chad Waldschmidt, North America Automotive Director for Rhodia Engineering Plastics, located in Farmington Hills, MI said, "Tec Air is a perfect example of the kind of partnerships we're good at. We were able to bring both design and part proving expertise; we were able to evaluate new materials that optimized the production process, and we've really worked to be responsive to Tec Air's needs," he added.

"Best of all, the partnership's not done yet," said Waldschmidt. We've introduced our new Technyl Star™ polyamide materials to Tec Air, and we believe these materials will give Tec Air another significant productivity improvement." Technyl StarÔ polyamide is a new-generation nylon that features extremely high fluidity-ten times greater than that offered by traditional polyamide.

Technyl Star™ polyamide also boasts performance comparable to that offered by metal with its ability to withstand high temperatures and its advanced mechanical properties. It makes it possible to manufacture lighter injected components with high functional and technological value, notably in the automotive industry, in medical equipment, and in sport and leisure goods. In the automotive industry, Technyl Star™ polyamide now allows new designs and improved functionality opportunities for existing polyamide under-the-hood applications, while now opening up new applications altogether for design in polyamide.

McMurtry is excited about the possibilities. "We're working with these new materials now, and we think Technyl Star can help us in a number of ways. The high flow properties, even under heavy glass load, have the potential to improve our cycle times even further. What's better, we believe the performance properties of these materials will allow us to make part geometry changes that will reduce cycle time, material cost, and total fan assembly cost, while improving the reliability and life of the product." said McMurtry.

"From a material supplier's point of view," said Waldschmidt, we're helping to foster this innovation because we bring the materials, the structural design knowledge and the testing capability to the development effort. This is a great partnership for both of us."

About Rhodia Engineering Plastics Rhodia Engineering Plastics, headquartered in Lyon, France, is the world's second largest producer of polyamide engineering thermoplastic materials. The company has a sales network that spans the world, with manufacturing plants and technical development centres in Europe, North America, South America and Asia. For further details about the company, visit Rhodia Engineering Plastics' website at www.rhodia-ep.com

About Tec Air, Inc. TEC AIR is a designer and manufacturer of plastic air movement components and systems. Examples of Tec Air's products include axial and radial flow fans, impellers, blower wheels, centrifugal flow fans and motorized blower assemblies. TEC AIR supplies a diverse market throughout the world, including: the automotive, appliance, yard care, floor care, HVAC, refrigeration and climate control industries. Corporate headquarters and Tec Air's technical center are located in Willow Springs, IL, with manufacturing facilities also located in Willow Springs, IL, as well as Lewisburg, TN. For further details about the company, visit Tec Air, Inc.'s website at www.tecairinc.com.