YOUNGSVILLE, N.C., March 18, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harold Bevis, the President and CEO of Xerium Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:XRM), a leading global provider of industrial consumable products and services, announced today the hiring of Mr. Wern-Lirn (Paul) Wang to the position of Xerium - President of Asia. Mr. Wang will be based in Xerium's Asia headquarters office in Shanghai, China and will have full responsibility for the fast-growing Asia region. Mr. Wang will be responsible for delivering Xerium-Asia's long-term and short-term business plans, maintaining and strengthening customer relationships, leading improvement initiatives and accelerating growth and profit rates. 

Harold Bevis said "Xerium has a very successful and growing business in Asia. Paul will be taking over a great business for Xerium and taking it to the next level. Xerium is investing into and expanding all 4 of its Asian plants and also is building a 5^th new, greenfield plant in Ba Cheng, China. Paul is a seasoned international businessman with strengths in Asia. He adds a lot to our Asian business and to our top executive team. He is Xerium's first Asian national leader and we expect him to make a big difference for the company. He will shape the Asian team under him, refine the company's product offerings, expand our production capabilities, and deepen our Value Results selling process."

"Xerium is an expert at creating productivity for our customers and we have an arsenal of patented solutions," continued Mr. Bevis. "Asia is an extremely important market for Xerium and it is imperative that Xerium continue to profitably grow its Asian business. We hope that one day Asia will be the biggest business for Xerium.  Mr. Paul Wang will lead all of our Asian efforts and will help me lead the whole company as a top executive of the company." 

Wern-Lirn Wang said, "I am excited to join Xerium at this time and am honored to accept this opportunity to lead the efforts of Xerium's Asia region. It is my goal to ensure alignment with the company's long-term strategy and address future market demands and opportunities while establishing strong relationships with critical regional customers. Our team will ensure the infrastructure in the Asia region is in place to meet our customer's expectations for new technology and high quality products that are delivered at low costs with best-in-class service. We will leverage the know-how of global Xerium to achieve our expected financial outcomes."

Wern-Lirn (Paul) Wang Background Highlights

• 30+ years of technical, operational, managerial and executive leadership experience.
• Seasoned international leader with experience residing and operating in China, USA, Taiwan and Hong Kong.  
• Many years of full P&L responsibility with functional leadership experiences including manufacturing, project management, business development, sales and marketing.
• Tech savvy business leader with a balance of commercial and operations experience; proven track record of organic growth and hands-on experience with M&A, JV development and manufacturing operations.
• Most recently, the CEO of Asia Timber Products where he led the MDF & laminated flooring manufacturer in China with US$240 million in sales (4 plants across China & 2,200 employees).  Turned the company around from a loss & cash depleting position to $20+ million EBITDA.
• Prior to Asia Timber Products, held leadership positions at Owens-Illinois, International Paper, PPG & Owens-Corning Fiberglass.
• BS in Chemical Engineering from National Taiwan University, MS in Chemical Engineering from Pennsylvania State University, MS in Material Sciences & Engineering and an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
• Married with 3 children.

ABOUT XERIUM

Xerium Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:XRM) is a leading global provider of industrial consumable products and services. Xerium, which operates around the world under a variety of brand names, utilizes a broad portfolio of patented and proprietary technologies to provide customers with tailored solutions and products integral to production, all designed to optimize performance and reduce operational costs. With 28 manufacturing facilities in 12 countries around the world, Xerium has approximately 3,200 employees.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release contains forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "goals," variations of such words, and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements, but their absence does not mean that the statement is not forward-looking. Actual results may differ materially from these forward-looking statements and estimates as a result of various important factors, including, without limitation, actual market growth in Asia, generally and for the company, the other factors discussed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2013, and our other SEC filings, all of which are on file with the SEC and are available in the investor relations section of our website at www.xerium.com. Any forward-looking statements are as of the date hereof, and we assume no obligation to publicly update or revise these forward-looking statements for any reason, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as may be required by law.