CATOOSA, OKLA. - Hawk Corporation has today announced an expansion of its domestic U.S. manufacturing capacity with a planned addition of a new world-class plant at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa. The 240,000 square foot facility will manufacture friction products as part of the company's Wellman Products Group and will incorporate production currently housed in Ohio.

Ronald E. Weinberg, Chairman and CEO of Hawk said, "We continue to believe in the importance of premier domestic production of our products. After all, the United States is still our largest market and we need to be able to offer our customers' rapid logistics support, top quality manufacturing and competitive pricing. We will be able to continue to meet these goals with our new facility."

The company plans to begin construction for the new facility in the second quarter of 2004, with completion expected during the first quarter of 2005.

Hawk expects to recognize approximately $2.5 million in annual cost savings from the new facility once the operatinon is in full production.

Hawk Corporation is a leading worldwide supplier of highly-engineered products. Its friction products group is a leading supplier of friction materials for brakes, clutches and recreational vehicles. Their customers are in the industrial, agriculture, powersports, and aerospace sectors and include Caterpillar, John Deere, Eaton, BG Goodrich and Bombardier.

The new plant will be constructed by Fleming Building Company, Inc., headquartered at the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, for a local development group, Springdal, LLC. The plant will sit on a 30-acre site on the northeast edge of the Port of Catoosa's industrial park. The area is presently undeveloped and will require significant off-site improvements including a new road, utilities, and highway access.

According to Jerry Goodwin, chairman of the City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority, "The Authority will expend approximately $1 million on this work. The Port has applied to the State of Oklahoma Department of Commerce for a combination $750,000 grant and loan package to help offset these costs.

"Tulsa's Port of Catoosa Facilities Authority will also contribute $675,000 in development financing for site improvements including dirtwork and a rail spur. This work will make the site comparable to other "shovel read" sites, our typical offering," said Goodwin. The plant will immediately hire more than 200 workers and expects to grow to 300 in the next three years.

The company has applied to the STate for finanacial incentives under the Quality Jobs program and the Career TEch Training for Industry programs. It has also been awarded a training grant from the Rogers County Industrial Authority to train its new Oklahoma workers.

The Tulsa Port of Catoosa, situated at the head of navigation for the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System, is one of the country's largest inland, ice-free ports and intermodal transportation centers. The Port's 2,000-acre business complex offers industrilal sites for lease or sale. Many of the companies are located at the Port because of the transportation options and savins that waterway shipping can bring.

The 445-mile waterway links Oklahoma and the surrounding five-state areas with ports on the Missouri, Ohio, Illinois, and Mississippi river systems, and foreign and domestic ports beyond by way of NEw Orleans and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway.