December 13, 2008 07:24 ET

Kongsberg Automotive Announces Restructuring of North American Operations

Supplier Announces Facility Changes

KONGSBERG, NORWAY--(Marketwire - December 13, 2008) - Kongsberg Automotive, a global supplier of automotive, commercial and industrial products, today announced that they are restructuring their production operations in North America.

Production at their Van Wert, Ohio facility will be transferred to our Nuevo Laredo, Mexico facility. This closure will affect approximately 105 jobs within the Van Wert facility. The facility is expected to close sometime in the summer of 2009. This announcement is in addition to recently announced cut backs in this same location.

Production at the Haysville, Kansas facility will be transferred to our Matamoros, Mexico facility. The Haysville facility is also expected to close sometime in the summer of 2009, and effect approximately 100 jobs at the facility.

"This restructuring is driven by the global automotive market collapse" said Olav Volldal, CEO Kongsberg Automotive Holding ASA. "KA, like other automotive suppliers, has seen drastic volume reductions globally over the last few months, and the largest impact has so far been in North America. These cuts are necessary to align our manufacturing to the new market realities."

Kongsberg Automotive is headquartered in Kongsberg, Norway and has more than 50 facilities in 20 countries on all continents. Kongsberg Automotive, with revenues of about EUR1 billion and over 9.500 employees, provides system solutions to vehicle makers around the world. The product portfolio includes gearshift systems, cables for a wide variety of applications, fuel lines, tubing and hoses, couplings, clutch actuation, stabilizing rods, seat heaters, seat ventilation, lumbar supports, head restrains, arm rests, steering columns, pedals, electronics and displays. Find more information at www.kongsbergautomotive.com.

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