Stowe Woodward Introduces Blue Steel Roll Covers to Improve Efficiency and Reduce Wear on Paper Mill Machinery; Fifth-Generation Technology Built on Polyurethane Roll Cover Research and Development Efforts Designed to Address Customer Demands.

WESTBOROUGH, Mass. -- Stowe Woodward, a Xerium Company (NYSE: XRM) and a leading supplier of roll covers, bowed rolls and manufacturing services for the pulp and paper industry, today announced the introduction of its Blue Steel(TM) product line - Stowe Woodward's fifth generation of polyurethane roll cover technology designed as one of the company's highest performance offerings to enable quality yields in the newsprint, magazine, board and food container paper machinery.

Stowe Woodward concentrated its research and development efforts to design three specific Blue Steel products based on the needs and goals of its most demanding customers. This effort focused on customizing the technology to help paper producers optimize mill efficiency by reducing maintenance and down time. The new products, Blue Steel H, Blue Steel S and Blue Steel SR, represent the company's commitment to continuously improve polyurethane roll cover materials and attain technology leadership in wear resistance, in order to better serve its customers.

"Stowe Woodward has completed an extensive round of beta site testing with Blue Steel and the results have been very strong," said William Butterfield, global vice president of Stowe Woodward's Research and Development. "Our customers are looking for new ways to improve quality and reduce production costs and we believe that Blue Steel can deliver on both. We think this premium product line has the best wear resistance in the industry. Moreover, we expect that the stability that Blue Steel delivers to the press nip will result in lower maintenance costs."

All three offerings in the Blue Steel family provide an excellent bond at the base to polyurethane top stock interface. They include a new high temperature base and adhesive system in order to operate at the high temperatures created by turning off water cooling. This new generation of roll covers has superior heat dissipation and absorbs impact in the press to deliver top value to customers, meeting a wide range of demands from low load and low speed to high load and high speed press applications.

Designed for long wear in severe peak pressure conditions, Blue Steel H offers a uniform sharp nip and stable grooves to enable a highly uniform moisture profile during the paper production process. Blue Steel H resists abrasion and offers a steel-like rigidity that is intended for optimal in-machine life and helps prolong cover life in newsprint and magazine paper manufacturing.

Blue Steel S is the soft version of the line intended to serve demanding applications such as suction drum ryder rolls, cylinder couch rolls, and soft nip presses. Blue Steel S has a wide nip to promote press efficiency and extend clothing life. While rolls in this position are susceptible to high wear and aggressive wet end chemistry, Blue Steel S is designed to prolong cover life through special ingredients that resist hydrocarbon attack. These ingredients were specifically formulated to achieve more favorable abrasion resistance in harsh operating environments.

Blue Steel SR is a soft polyurethane cover that is manufactured with special release compounds to reduce picking in soft release applications, such as lumpbreakers and soft press applications. The available wide hardness range also provides specifically engineered nip intensity.

The Blue Steel line of products represents Stowe Woodward's ongoing mission to deliver the highest performing roll cover technology to mills around the world, and is supported by more than 119 years in the paper industry.

About Stowe Woodward

Stowe Woodward, a unit of Xerium Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:XRM), is a leading supplier of roll covers, bowed rolls and manufacturing services for the pulp and paper industry. Stowe Woodward has established a record for success through a combination of technological innovation and attentive customer service. A global technology leader in roll covers since it was founded in 1886, Stowe Woodward has manufacturing operations around the world and is headquartered in Westborough, Massachusetts. More information on Stowe Woodward, its products and services can be found at www.xerium.com. Xerium Technologies, Inc. is a leading global manufacturer and supplier of two types of consumable products used primarily in the production of paper: clothing and roll covers. Xerium Technologies, Inc. operates around the world under a variety of brand names and 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 35 manufacturing facilities in 15 countries around the world, Xerium Technologies has approximately 3,900 employees.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are not based on historical fact, including without limitation, statements containing the words "expects," "anticipates," "intends," "plans," "believes," "seeks," "estimates," "indicates", "suggests" and similar expressions. Because these forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, there are important factors that could cause actual results, events or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to: (i) adverse changes in general economic or market conditions, including without limitation those affecting the paper industry; (ii) currency fluctuations; (iii) competitive factors, including but not limited to pricing pressures and new product introductions; (iv) the relative and varying rates of product price and component cost changes and the volume and mixture of product and services revenues; (v) transitions to new products, the uncertainty of customer acceptance of new product offerings and technological and market change; (vi) war or acts of terrorism in any country in which we conduct business; (vii) changes in U.S. or foreign government policies, laws, regulations and practices, including without limitation those regarding the repatriation of funds and taxes; and (viii) those other factors described in Xerium Technologies' filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. All information is current as of the date this press release is issued, and Xerium Technologies and Stowe Woodward undertake no duty to update this information.