Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Hawk Expands Asian Capabilities

Defense News ~ CLEVELAND, OH--(Marketwire - 03/02/10) - Hawk Corporation (AMEX:HWK - News) announced today the acquisition of certain assets of Sangte Plate Manufacturing Company, Ltd. located in Suzhou, China, near Hawk's existing Chinese facility. Sangte has been a supplier of steel backing and opposing plates used in Hawk's Chinese based manufacturing for many years. Sangte's production capacity and technology will be integrated into Hawk's internal processes, as Hawk continues to expand its capabilities in Asia. Terms of the transaction were not announced.

The acquisition is related to Hawk's recent initiatives in China that are designed to allow Hawk to capture more of the Asian friction markets. As part of these initiatives, Hawk has established a research and development department in its Chinese facility which will be led by Hawk's former head of North American Research and Development, Rich Dowell. Rich possesses over 30 years of friction technology expertise. By relocating to Suzhou full-time to lead engineering and build a local research and development capability, Rich will take Hawk's China organization to a new level of self-sufficiency. Hawk considers it a significant competitive advantage that its employees and customers in the region will have access to Rich's deep knowledge and expertise. Further, the Company announced that it has enhanced its testing capability in China and added additional sales personnel to further serve the Asian friction markets.

Ronald E. Weinberg, Chairman and CEO of Hawk, stated, "These initiatives are part of our plan to further build our business in one of the fastest growing and largest economies in the world. We are not in Asia simply as a cost saving mechanism, but as part of a long-term strategic plan. The localization of manufacturing, sales and marketing combined with research and development of advanced products in China, are all part of our efforts to better serve our customers in Asia."

The Company Hawk Corporation is a leading supplier of friction materials for brakes, clutches and transmissions used in airplanes, trucks, construction and mining equipment, farm equipment, recreational and performance automotive vehicles. The Company also manufactures fuel cell components.

Forward-Looking Statements This press release includes forward-looking statements concerning the Company's acquisition of Sangte Plate Manufacturing Company, Ltd. There is no assurance that Hawk will be able to successfully integrate Sangte into Hawk's existing Chinese operations. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's expectations and beliefs concerning future events. Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company and which could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements.

Actual results and events may differ significantly from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Reference is made to Hawk's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, its quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, and other periodic filings, for a description of the foregoing and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Hawk Corporation is online at: http://www.hawkcorp.com/

Contact:

No comments:

Post a Comment