Frank Ptak Will Succeed John Nichols as Marmon Group CEO

CHICAGO, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- John D. Nichols has announced he will retire as president and chief executive officer of The Marmon Group, Inc. Thomas J. Pritzker, chairman of Marmon Holdings, Inc., has announced the appointment of Frank S. Ptak to succeed Mr. Nichols, effective Jan. 3. Mr. Ptak has served on the Marmon Holdings board of directors since 2003.

Mr. Nichols joined The Marmon Group, Inc. in January 2002. He will continue to serve Marmon Holdings as vice chairman. He previously was chairman and chief executive officer of Illinois Tool Works Inc. before retiring in 1996. Mr. Ptak, who will retire from ITW at the end of the year, has been with the company for 30 years. He has served as ITW's vice chairman since 1996 and has held a variety of senior operating positions during his tenure.

"The Marmon Group has benefited tremendously from John's leadership over the past four years," Mr. Pritzker said. "With John's decision to retire, we are fortunate to have someone of Frank's stature and background as the new president and CEO of The Marmon Group, Inc. Frank's experience at ITW, like The Marmon Group, a large, diverse industrial organization, and his knowledge of Marmon gained from his service on our board make him an excellent fit for the position. He and John share many of the same management philosophies and we look forward to a seamless transition."

The Marmon Group is an international association of more than 100 companies that operate independently within diverse business sectors. Member companies operate more than 250 production facilities, primarily in North America, the United Kingdom and China. Collective revenues exceeded $6.3 billion in 2004.