Rosta Intl. to establish North American headquarters

Rosta International Ltd. (Rosta), a China-based manufacturer of steel and aluminum wheels for automotive manufacturers and the aftermarket industry, announced today that it will open a sales and engineering facility in Michigan to support its global expansion. Rosta's parent company, Yuan Feng Industrial Co. Ltd. (Yuan Feng), headquartered in Taiwan, supplies wheels for the Asian market and formed Rosta to spearhead its international expansion. The company is looking at sites in Michigan to be close to its U.S. customers Ford and General Motors. In Asia, Rosta supplies wheels to Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi Motors, Mazda, Nissan, and Suzuki.

Rosta also announced that it has named two executives to key U.S. posts. Ranko "Ron" Cucuz has joined the Rosta board of directors as vice-chairman. Before joining Rosta, Cucuz was chairman and CEO of Hayes Lemmerz Intl. Inc., a supplier of automotive and commercial highway wheels, brakes, powertrain, suspension, and other lightweight components for the automotive industry. Cucuz also is a director for two public companies, Lincoln Electric and Cleveland-Cliffs.

Richard "Rich" Miller has joined Rosta as vice president of sales and marketing for North America and Europe. Before joining Rosta, Miller was with SPX Corp. and earlier, with Hayes Lemmerz Intl. He was in senior sales and marketing positions for both companies.

Rosta also has announced that it is investing $100 million (U.S.) in a new aluminum wheel plant in Suzhou, China. The facility, with proximity to Shanghai, will further expand Rosta's capacity in China, and support its global expansion effort. Rosta currently has operations in Fuzhou, China.

The new plant's estimated capacity will be approximately five million aluminum wheels targeted for export to the U.S. and Europe. Production is expected to begin at the end of 2005.