ATS Announces Reorganization of North American ASG Operations and Appointment of Regional President

CAMBRIDGE, ON, Aug. 21 /CNW/ - ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. today announced the launch of a significant reorganization of its Automation Systems Group (ASG) as part of the continuing implementation of its strategic plan and improvement initiatives.

In announcing the reorganization, Ron Jutras, ATS President and CEO said: ‘‘This is an important and positive step forward in our overall plans for ATS. North America is our largest market for automation and home to our biggest and most technically advanced operations. We want the best, most efficient organizational structure, management processes and talent in place to optimize the value of our leadership in this market. By reorganizing and improving our organizational structure for ASG in North America, we expect to add further support to our goals of delivering dramatically improved financial performance for shareholders and higher customer satisfaction while providing new and meaningful motivation to our valued employees.’‘

The reorganization is also designed to achieve:

• a much higher level of coordination among ASG's regional facilities
• better resource utilization
• clearer lines of responsibility and authority throughout the organization
• greater management depth to help manage ‘‘the inherent complexity of our technology rich, project-based international business.’‘

‘‘Furthermore,’‘ Mr. Jutras added, ‘‘establishing stronger, more effective leadership for North America will enable my executive team to devote more focused attention to our Company-wide goals of better performance, rapid execution of both our global business strategy and improvement initiatives and efficient translation of strategic opportunities into profitable business.’‘

‘‘Because it represents a very significant transformation for ASG in North America,’‘ Mr. Jutras said ‘‘we expect it will take approximately 18 months before we see the full benefits of our new structure. However, we expect to gain tangible advantages throughout the implementation process. The appointment of Jim Sheldon is an important first step in our implementation plan and ensures that this important initiative will get the full attention it deserves so we can move forward aggressively and efficiently.’‘

Appointment of President of ASG North America
Jim Sheldon has been appointed to the new role of President, ASG North America. Mr. Sheldon (formerly Vice President of Automation Systems Operations Western USA) will report to Mike Cybulski, Executive Vice President of Operations, ASG.

‘‘Jim is the ideal executive to lead this wide-ranging organizational reformation program,’‘ said Mr. Cybulski. ‘‘Over the past three years, he has driven a very successful turnaround of our US West Coast ASG operations and has been an active participant in the implementation of our new strategy roadmap and balanced scorecard systems. He has excellent leadership skills, a thorough understanding of the automation systems industry, and is a proven team builder who knows how to implement a growth and improvement program. Jim's appointment as President, ASG North America, achieves our goal of bringing the previous ASG Eastern North America and US Western USA operations together with a common, unified mandate and strong regional leadership. I look forward to working with Jim in the coming months and to furthering my global mandates, including further development of our regional ASG businesses in both Asia and Europe.’‘

Mr. Sheldon joined ATS in late 2003 with 25 years of manufacturing experience. He is a business management major, a Certified Engineering Technologist, a senior member of the Society of Engineers and began his career as a Toolmaker at Parker Hannifin Corporation, a vertically integrated aerospace manufacturer. Prior to joining ATS, he was President of the DTE Division of Detroit Tool Industries Inc., a designer and manufacturer of automated assembly, metal forming and packaging systems.

Said Mr. Sheldon: ‘‘ATS has a formidable market presence, broad capabilities, and tremendous assets in North America, including over 1,900 dedicated ASG employees. By implementing this new structure, we will ensure our team has the clear direction and focus it needs to achieve our vision, our financial objectives and customer commitments in an efficient manner. I'm very excited with our new mandate and I look forward to building out my management team and adding support to our aggressive cost saving and margin improvement activities in the weeks ahead.’‘

Future Appointments

As part of this North America-wide initiative, Mr. Jutras indicated that he expects to see new ASG executive responsibilities assigned in sales, engineering, manufacturing and project management in the next four months ‘‘to significantly improve our management capability and execution in these critical disciplines.’‘

‘‘We've designed this new and very comprehensive organizational structure - using established best practice organizational design disciplines - specifically to address our needs for both today and the future. It will replace a management structure that built up quickly as our company grew very rapidly from a small organization to a significantly larger one with independently managed, satellite operations. I'm excited by the potential benefits these changes will bring to our Company and its performance in the months ahead.’‘

About ATS
ATS Automation Tooling Systems Inc. (www.atsautomation.com) is the industry's leading designer and producer of turn-key automated manufacturing and test systems, which are used primarily by multinational corporations operating in a variety of industries including: healthcare, computer/electronics, automotive, and consumer products. ATS is also an emerging leader in the rapidly growing market for solar energy cells and modules. The Company also makes precision components and subassemblies using its own custom-built manufacturing systems, process knowledge and automation technology. ATS employs approximately 3,900 people at 26 manufacturing facilities in Canada, the United States, Europe and Asia-Pacific. The Company's shares are traded on The Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol ATA.

Note to Readers
This press release contains certain statements that constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (‘‘forward-looking statements’‘). Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of ATS, or developments in ATS's business or in its industry, to differ materially from the anticipated results, performance, achievements or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include all disclosure regarding possible events, conditions or results of operations that is based on assumptions about future economic conditions and courses of action. Forward-looking statements may also include, without limitation, any statement relating to future events, conditions or circumstances. ATS cautions you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they are made. Forward-looking statements relate to, among other things: a significant reorganization of ASG; continuing implementation of ATS's strategic plan and improvement initiatives; belief that the reorganization of ASG represents a positive step forward for ATS; optimizing value of ATS's leadership in the North American market; the stated goals of the reorganization, namely, the dramatic improvement of financial performance for shareholders, higher customer satisfaction, the provision of meaningful motivation to employees, a higher level of co-ordination among ASG's regional facilities, better resource utilization, clearer lines of responsibility and authority, and greater management depth to help manage aspects of the ASG business; expectation that the reorganization of ASG will support the stated goals of ATS; anticipated advantages and benefits to be gained as a result of the reorganization of ASG, including, the expectation that the ATS team will have clearer focus and direction, and the anticipated timing of the realization of such advantages and benefits; appointment of a new President, ASG North America; expectation that the new management and organizational structure will enable ATS's executive team to devote more attention to certain specified ATS-wide goals, including further development of ATS's regional businesses in Asia and Europe; expectation that further new ASG executive responsibilities will be assigned and the anticipated timing of such appointments; expectation that such appointments will improve ATS's management capability and execution in certain disciplines and support ATS's aggressive cost saving and margin improvement activities; and the ability of new organizational design to meet future needs. The risks and uncertainties that may affect forward-looking statements include, among others: general market conditions, including the potential for customers in North America to reduce their capital expenditure budgets for automation, in whole or in part, for business, political, economic or other reasons, which limit or eliminate anticipated advantages and benefits of the ASG reorganization and changes to ASG's organizational structure; the performance of the Canadian dollar; that unforeseen delays or other problems with the implementation of the reorganization of ASG and related changes to its organizational structure result in a failure of the measures to bring about the achievement of stated goals and the enjoyment of anticipated advantages and benefits; that the anticipated benefits of having ATS's executive team devote more attention to specified ATS-wide goals do not come to fruition for reasons unrelated to the reorganization of ASG, including poor market performance in Asia and/or Europe; that unanticipated personnel changes reduce or eliminate anticipated advantages and benefits of the appointment of a new President, ASG North America and other ASG executive positions in the short or long term; that unanticipated problems delay the appointment of new ASG executives and the ASG reorganization is negatively impacted as a result; competition within the market for the human resources that ATS has targeted as part of the ASG reorganization; that the new organizational design does not result in the achievement of stated goals, including, cost savings and margin improvements, for unforeseen reasons; that circumstances and events at ATS, generally, result in the ASG reorganization receiving less attention than anticipated; unforeseen problems with the implementation of ATS's strategic plan and improvement strategies or failure of these initiatives to bring about improved performance and profitability at ATS; and other risks detailed from time to time in ATS' filings with Canadian provincial securities regulators, including the Annual Information Form for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006 and the Annual Report for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2006. Forward-looking statements are based on management's current plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions, and ATS does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements should assumptions related to these plans, estimates, projections, beliefs and opinions change.

For further information:
Carl Galloway, Vice President and Treasurer
Gerry Beard, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
(519) 653-6500