Appointment of Group MD

Smiths Group PLC 31 May 2006 London, 31 May 2006 Smiths Group: Appointment of Group Managing Director, Specialty Engineering and details of Finance Director transition Smiths Group plc today announced that Paul Cox has been appointed the new Group Managing Director, Specialty Engineering with effect from 1 August 2006, in succession to John Langston who is due to become Finance Director of Smiths Group in September 2006. Paul Cox joined Smiths in January 2005, as President, Smiths Interconnect from Andrew Corporation in Chicago, Illinois, where he had led both its Satellite Communications and Antenna Products divisions. Prior to joining Andrew Corporation, he worked for 15 years at EMS Technologies in Norcross, Georgia, rising to become Senior Vice President of its Space and Technology Division. He is a US citizen and holds a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering gained at the Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He and his family will be relocating to London. Keith Butler-Wheelhouse, Chief Executive of Smiths Group, said: 'I am delighted that Paul will be heading up our Specialty Engineering Division. He brings a strong track record of business leadership and success. With the support of his colleagues, he will continue to build on the growth already achieved across the Specialty Engineering division.' Also with effect from 1 August 2006, John Langston will become Finance Director-designate, working full-time alongside Alan Thomson, the Company's outgoing Finance Director, until the latter's retirement on 6 September after which he will remain available to Smiths Group on a consulting basis for up to one year. Smiths Group Smiths is a global engineering business, listed on the London Stock Exchange. Smiths Group focuses on high performance applications, building and sustaining market-leading businesses in growth sectors. It reaches deep into global markets taking its manufacturing closer to its customers. Smiths Group has four divisions: Aerospace, Detection, Medical and Specialty. It employs 32,000 people and has over 250 major facilities in 50 countries. For more information visit www.smiths-group.com Smiths Specialty Engineering Smiths Specialty Engineering division comprises four businesses: John Crane provides mechanical rotating seals used in process plants; Interconnect supplies components and sub-systems for connecting, protecting and controlling critical electronic and radio frequency systems; Flex-Tek provides ducting and hosing for a wide range of applications, mainly for heating & ventilation and domestic equipment; Marine Systems is a smaller activity and supplies marine electronics and charts. Smiths Specialty Engineering employs 10,600 people. For further information visit www.smiths-specialtyengineering.com Contact: Media Chris Fox +44 (0)20 8457 8403 Contact: Investor Relations Russell Plumley +44 (0)20 8457 8203 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange EFE
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