Multimatic Strengthens Vehicle Development Capability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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MARKHAM, ON (October 20, 2006) - Multimatic's internationally renowned vehicle dynamics and engineering expertise has been strengthened by the recruitment of former Lotus vehicle engineering boss, Stephen Swift.

Swift joins the Multimatic team after 17 years at Lotus. The 44-year-old will begin his new role as Engineering Director, operating from Multimatic's European Technical Centre (MTCE) at Thetford in Norfolk.

Educated in Hong Kong where he learned to drive at age 11, Swift completed a Mechanical Engineering honours degree at Nottingham University in 1983 and went on to complete a masters in business administration at Henley Management College in 1997.

After working for Renault's truck division concentrating on heavy vehicle dynamics, Swift joined Lotus and quickly progressed to be Chief of Chassis Engineering. He was heavily involved in the development of the Lotus Elan, Esprit and Carlton models as well as external customer projects and was promoted in 2000 to the company's vehicle engineering department head.

"Multimatic has established a strong reputation throughout the world for its vehicle dynamics and engineering capabilities and the addition of Steve to our team will certainly enhance that," Multimatic Vice President, Larry Holt said.

"Multimatic is unique in providing development and tuning services that integrate three crucial testing and evaluation disciplines into a 'Closed-Loop Vehicle Dynamics Optimisation' process including Analytical Simulation, Objective Testing and Subjective Evaluation.

"We also complete the final piece of the puzzle by manufacturing complete suspension systems for many of the world's manufacturers and Tier One suppliers.

"I believe it is our wide ranging capability which has attracted Steve to our company."

Multimatic's vehicle dynamics development expertise is regularly utilised by leading manufacturers throughout North America, Europe and Australia as well as many of the world's most successful motor racing organizations.

"I am very excited about the opportunities at Multimatic. From the people I have met so far and the expertise available, the company exudes a real "can do" attitude and that is reflected by the quality of the Multimatic's client base," Swift said.

"The diverse range of areas the company specialises in is quite unique and there are a large number of people in the organisation who not only have a great depth of knowledge in one particular specialty, but also have developed a significant breadth of expertise in a number of areas.

"I am eagerly awaiting the opportunity to help develop the range of engineering services for our clients, not only from the UK base in Thetford, but throughout the world."

Multimatic is a privately held Canadian corporation supplying components, systems and services to the global automotive industry. The company is headquartered in Markham, Ontario, Canada, and has operating divisions in North America and Europe with partners in Asia, South America and Australia.

Multimatic specializes in the manufacture of stampings, welded assemblies, mechanisms, and suspension components, as well as the design and development of automotive body and chassis systems. Multimatic uses advanced technologies to achieve outstanding product quality, delivery and functional performance.

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