Northern Automotive Systems Ltd. Joint Venture

Press Release

Northern Automotive Systems Ltd. is pleased to announce, effective September 1, 2009, a joint venture (JV) with Beijing WKW Erbslöh Automotive Co Ltd (BWKWEA). This JV has been established to provide world class decorative interior aluminium trim for the Chinese and select Asian territories. Full production will commence in quarter one, 2010. The newly established JV name is:

Beijing Northern Automotive Parts Co., Ltd.
北京诺森汽车零部件有限公司

Northern's JV partner is a JV between WKW Erbslöh of Velbert, Germany, and Beijing Zhonghuan Investment Management Co Ltd, of Beijing. The newly established JV will operate from a purpose built factory in Daxing District, Beijing, and will initially serve the Chinese operations of Volkswagen, Audi, and Volvo. Its product will be decorative interior aluminum trim for Chinese automobile producers and the automotive sector of select Asian territories. It will benefit from a strong existing automotive production and sales base from BWKWEA, while Northern will provide class leading expertise in the design, development, manufacture and project management of new products.

Beijing Zhonghuan Investment Management Co Ltd. is a major leader in industrial investment in the Beijing area. It is privately owned and focuses on the automotive sector. The Erbslöh Group, with headquarters in Velbert, Germany specializes in the development and production of aluminium materials, their processing into extruded products, and subsequent surface finishing. It has a long-term customer base that includes nearly all European automotive manufacturers. Walter Klein GmbH & Co. KG (WKW), a privately owned company, is the majority shareholder in Erbslöh AG.

Northern Automotive Systems Ltd. (NAS) is the European subsidiary of privately owned Northern Engraving Corporation (NEC) of Sparta, Wisconsin, USA. NEC was established in 1908, and continues to be a leader in aluminium decoratives for the automotive, industrial, and nameplate world market sectors. NAS is focused on providing automotive interior trim to the European motor industry.