Tecumseh Announces Beginning of Production at Curitiba, Brazil Facility

Tecumseh Products Company (NASDAQ: TECUA)(NASDAQ: TECUB) announces that its newest engine and transmission manufacturing facility in Curitiba, Brazil will begin production during the month of October.

The plant will produce air-cooled gasoline engines and transmissions for the lawn and garden market.

Tecumseh has decades of experience operating in Brazil through its compressor division. Brazil was chosen as an engine and transmission manufacturing location to service the South American market as well as to support global exports.

Our decision to locate an engine and transmission manufacturing facility in Brazil is consistent with Tecumseh's strategy to maintain global competitiveness. By establishing production that serves local as well as export markets we can adjust factory output to compensate for unpredictable global currency fluctuations. The Curitiba factory employs several novel manufacturing technologies that establish a new benchmark in flexibility and efficiency.

Curitiba, Brazil is the third international manufacturing operation for the Engine and Transmission Group. Engines have been manufactured in Torino, Italy, as part of a joint venture since 1982, and as a wholly owned subsidiary since 1989. In May 2001, Tecumseh acquired Motoco a.s., a small engine manufacturer in the Czech Republic.

As the largest market for lawn and garden equipment, the U.S. engine and transmission business continues to operate plants in New Holstein, Wisconsin; Salem, Indiana; and Dunlap, Tennessee. Group Headquarters remains in Grafton, Wisconsin. Total U.S. employment for the Engine & Transmission Group stands at 2,170.

In support of this important North American market, Tecumseh has enhanced its U.S. application engineering functions to provide the only integrated engine and transmission testing service among engine manufacturers. Global product development continues to be coordinated in the U.S. and is focused on close collaboration with customers to continue providing improved engines and transmissions.

Tecumseh Products Company is a full-line independent global manufacturer of hermetic compressors for residential and commercial refrigerators, freezers, water coolers, dehumidifiers, window air conditioning units, residential and commercial central system air conditioners, and heat pumps; gasoline engines and power trains for lawn mowers, lawn and garden tractors, garden tillers, string trimmers, snow throwers, industrial and agricultural applications and recreational vehicles; electric motors and components, including AC and DC motors, blowers, gear motors and linear actuators for a wide variety of industrial and consumer applications across a broad range of industries; and centrifugal pumps, sump pumps and small submersible pumps for industrial, commercial, marine and agricultural applications.

SOURCE: Tecumseh Products Company

CONTACT: Pat Walsh, Director of Investor Relations of Tecumseh Products
Company, +1-517-423-8455

Web site: http://www.tecumseh.com/

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