Messinger Bearings Acquired By Kingsbury

PHILADELPHIA, PA, February 9, 2004 - Kingsbury, Inc., a leading manufacturer of fluid film thrust and journal bearings, announced today the acquisition of Messinger Bearings Corporation. The official acquisition was effective February 1, 2004. Messinger Bearings is a specialty manufacturer of large, heavy-load rolling element bearings.

"We believe that this acquisition is truly a perfect marriage of Messinger's outstanding experience and Kingsbury's trademark engineering, manufacturing, and aftermarket support," stated William Strecker, vice president of sales and marketing at Kingsbury. "We look forward to re-establishing the Messinger brand as a leader in rolling element bearings." Since 1912 Messinger has served customers in the pulp & paper, steel, beverage, heavy construction, rock crushing, and defense industries.

With the acquisition Kingsbury intends to build on its expertise for developing large and custom bearing solutions, a reputation that Messinger also enjoys. Equipment, inventory and critical staff have been moved to Kingsbury headquarters.

Kingsbury extended their product line this time last year with the creation of a new Magnetic Bearings division. The new division was formed through a strategic alliance with the French company Société de Mécanique Magnétique (S2M) to better serve North and South American turbomachinery markets with magnetic bearings and high-speed motor/generator products.

About Kingsbury, Inc. And Messinger Bearings
Headquartered in Philadelphia, PA USA, Kingsbury designs and manufactures a wide variety of standard and custom fluid-film thrust and journal bearings for rotating equipment applications, including hydroelectric turbines, gas and steam turbines, compressors, gearboxes, pumps, air preheaters and ship propulsion systems. Today, the company maintains its position as the industry leader through continuing research and development, engineering integrity, and world-class customer service.

The Messinger Bearings product provides custom rolling element bearings for large, unique or unusual applications in demanding environments. Messinger's markets include rock crushing, pulp/paper making, steel, beverage bottling, antennas, coal pulverizing, tunnel boring, and various government defense applications, to name a few.

For more information about the Messinger Bearings product of Kingsbury, Inc, contact Dan Matthews, Product Manager, 10385 Drummond Road, Philadelphia PA 19154 USA.

Tel: +1 215-824-4016 | Fax: +1 215-824-4989 | E-mail: dpm@kingsbury.com.