Rochester Hills, Mich., March 28, 2002 -- Thomas S. Neslage was named President and Chief Operating Officer of Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems LLC, a 50-50 owned limited liability company whose members are Texaco Energy Systems Inc., a subsidiary of ChevronTexaco Corp. (NYSE:CVX), and Ovonic Battery Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Energy Conversion Devices, Inc. (ECD) (NASDAQ:ENER).
Key members of the management team reporting to Mr. Neslage were also named, including James K. Greiwe, Vice President, Product Development; Dennis Corrigan, Vice President, Battery Systems; Steve Allen, Vice President of Finance; and Gary Absher who will continue as Vice President of Manufacturing based in Kettering, Ohio.
Commenting on the appointments, Mr. Robert C. Stempel, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems LLC, said, "We are very pleased that Tom Neslage has joined our battery business as we begin the expansion of our manufacturing plant in Kettering to provide increased production of Ovonic nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries for the transportation and stationary markets. His worldwide operating, sales and marketing experience will be helpful as we expand our business." Commenting further, Mr. Stempel said, "Tom will head an experienced management team with manufacturing veterans, Jim Greiwe and Gary Absher, Dennis Corrigan with his years of engineering and research experience at Ovonic Battery and GM, and Steve Allen's financial and planning background at Texaco."
Mr. Neslage was ECD's Senior Vice President for Global Sales and Marketing. As president and Chief Operating Officer, he will be responsible for overall day-to-day company operations including manufacturing, product development, sales and marketing. Prior to joining ECD in November 2000, Mr. Neslage was President of Texaco Global Products. He graduated from Texas Tech University in 1974 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing and management, and earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Tulsa in 1977. He completed Columbia University's Global Management Development program in 1989.
Mr. Neslage will also head an ECD steering committee to continue the brand identity program and facilitate the commercialization of integrated solutions for the company's current leading-edge and emerging energy and information technologies in the marketplace. The steering committee will include members from other ECD joint ventures and subsidiaries.
James K. Greiwe was named Vice President, Product Development. Prior to this assignment, Mr. Greiwe was Manufacturing Manager of GM Ovonic, LLC, later renamed as Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems LLC. He led the transition team as the company moved from GM to Texaco. During a career spanning 35 years with General Motors, Mr. Greiwe has been closely associated with battery manufacturing as well as other automotive components. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Manufacturing Technology.
Gary Absher will continue as Vice President in charge of Manufacturing based in Kettering, Ohio, a position he has held since 1998. In this capacity, he was responsible for the implementation of a manufacturing system and achieving QS9000 certification for the Kettering facility. Mr. Absher has extensive experience in battery manufacturing operations at several locations with General Motors. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from Purdue University in 1977 and completed the Executive Development Program at Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, in 1999.
Dennis Corrigan was appointed Vice President, Battery Systems. He was formerly Vice President of Electric Vehicle Battery Systems at Ovonic Battery. Prior to joining Ovonic Battery in 1992, Dr. Corrigan was a senior scientist at General Motors Research Laboratories where he was involved in the investigation and development of all types of battery electrochemistry. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Purdue University in 1974 and his Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Wisconsin in 1979.
Steve Allen was named as Vice President of Finance. Prior to joining Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems LLC, he was Manager, Strategic Planning for Corporate Development at Texaco where he was involved in planning, capital appropriations, commercial transactions and administrative matters for Texaco's global midstream and downstream businesses. Mr. Allen graduated in 1973 from MIT with a Bachelor of Science degree and earned an MBA in finance from the New York University Stern School of Business in 1981.
"It is important to have the new team in place as the Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) market is growing and the new 36-42 volt systems begin to appear," said Stanford R. Ovshinsky, President and CEO of ECD, CEO of Ovonic Battery, and a member of the company's management committee. "We are pleased the company will be expanding the market for our proprietary Ovonic NiMH battery technology."
"ECD invented and developed NiMH batteries which are the batteries of choice for electric vehicles and hybrids"," said Greg Vesey, President of ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures and a member of the company's management committee. "We also expect that the stationary markets such as telecommunications and stand-by power will find many uses for Ovonic NiMH batteries."
Texaco Ovonic Battery Systems LLC was formed in July 2001 to bring the advanced NiMH batteries into widespread commercial production as well as to further develop them for non-automotive applications such as telecommunications and uninterruptible power supply (UPS). These batteries are intended to have higher power and a longer life than conventional batteries. The NiMH battery is an enabling technology for electric and hybrid electric vehicles across the automotive industry. Automotive manufacturers are including these batteries in the designs for their upcoming production models. In addition, maintenance-free NiMH batteries are environmentally friendly, are designed for longer life cycles and can be produced in high volume.
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Contacts: Ghazaleh Koefod Energy Conversion Devices Inc. 248-293-0440 |
Jennifer Silva ChevronTexaco 713-752-3854 |
ChevronTexaco Corporation is an integrated global energy company participating in virtually all aspects of the global energy business. It is the second-largest U.S.-based energy company and the fifth largest in the world, based on market capitalization. More than 53,000 ChevronTexaco employees work in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing oil and natural gas and marketing fuels and other energy products.
ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures, a unit of ChevronTexaco, is involved with identifying, developing and commercializing new and emerging technologies and new energy systems that promise to play an increasingly important role in the world's energy mix and environmental stewardship. Such activities include advanced batteries, fuel cells, fuel processing, hydrogen storage, and methods of converting solid, liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons into clean liquid fuels. ChevronTexaco Technology Ventures is actively engaged in developing and commercializing these technologies through internal development, joint ventures and equity investments to create new market opportunities for the next generation of clean, efficient energy systems.
ECD is the leader in the synthesis of new materials and the development of advanced production technology and innovative products. It has pioneered and developed enabling technologies leading to new products and production processes based on amorphous, disordered and related materials, with an emphasis on advanced information technologies and alternative energy, including photovoltaics, fuel cells, hydride batteries and hydride storage materials capable of storing hydrogen in the solid state for use as a feedstock for fuel cells or internal combustion engines or as an enhancement or replacement for any type of hydrocarbon fuel. ECD designs and builds manufacturing machinery that incorporates its proprietary production processes, maintains ongoing research and development programs to continually improve its products, and develops new applications for its technologies. ECD holds the basic patents in its fields. ECD's web site address is http://www.ovonic.com.
This release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions which ECD, as of the date of this release, believes to be reasonable and appropriate. ECD cautions, however, that the actual facts and conditions that may exist in the future could vary materially from the assumed facts and conditions upon which such forward-looking statements are based.
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