Tenneco Automotive Fuels Growth With Incremental New Business on Luxury Vehicles

Company Chosen by DaimlerChrysler as Supplier for Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars

LAKE FOREST, Ill., Aug. 18 -- Tenneco Automotive announced today that DaimlerChrysler AG has chosen the company as a supplier of advanced emission control systems. The company will develop and produce converter cannings and produce diesel particulate filters for specified passenger cars of the Mercedes-Benz brand.

"We are very proud to supply the DaimlerChrysler business and to be recognized for our advanced technology and full system exhaust capabilities," said Mark P. Frissora, chairman and CEO, Tenneco Automotive. "We are growing our global book of business by offering leading-edge technologies that help our customers meet more stringent emission regulations with improved emission control performance."

Tenneco Automotive first began production of diesel particulate filter technology in 2000 in conjunction with PSA for its Citroen C5 and Peugeot 406 diesel passenger vehicles. The company is currently developing the next generation of this technology with PSA and a number of other OEMs.

The company is a world leader in converter technology and offers OEMs a wide range of designs, from conventional clamshell converters to the more advanced ultra thinwall substrate catalytic converters. The ultra thinwall substrate catalytic converters were first introduced on the mid-model year 2002 S-type Jaguar and the 2003 model year XJ sedan.

Development and manufacturing will be handled by Tenneco Automotive Gillet at its facility in Edenkoben, Germany.

Tenneco Automotive is a $3.5 billion manufacturing company with headquarters in Lake Forest, Illinois and approximately 19,600 employees worldwide. Tenneco Automotive is one of the world's largest producers and marketers of ride control and exhaust systems and products, which are sold under the Monroe(R) and Walker(R) global brand names. Among its products are Sensa-Trac(R) and Monroe Reflex(R) shocks and struts, Rancho(R) shock absorbers, Walker(R) Quiet-Flow(R) mufflers and DynoMax(R) performance exhaust products, and Monroe(R) Clevite(R) vibration control components.