David J. Nangle Appointed President of Lincoln Electric's J.W. Harris Business

CLEVELAND, May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LECO - News) today announced the appointment of David J. Nangle as President of J.W. Harris Co., Inc., the Company's recently acquired manufacturer of brazing and soldering alloys. In this new position, Mr. Nangle will be responsible for all J.W. Harris operations, which include facilities in Ohio, Rhode Island, Spain and Mexico. He will also continue as President of two other Lincoln subsidiaries, Harris Calorific, Inc. and Welding, Cutting Tools & Accessories, Inc. (WCTA).

"Given his broad range of expertise and thorough knowledge of all of Lincoln's products, Dave is an ideal choice for the J.W. Harris role," said John M. Stropki, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Dave will work very closely with the strong team already in place at J.W. Harris to integrate them and the operations into the Lincoln Electric family."

Mr. Nangle joined Lincoln Electric's sales organization in 1979 through its Sales Training Program. During his Lincoln career, he has moved through a number of sales management positions of increasing responsibility, including District Manager of the Denver office followed by the San Francisco office. In 1995, he was named Distributor Sales Manager, and was appointed President of the Company's Harris Calorific subsidiary in 1999. In 2003, Mr. Nangle added responsibilities for the WCTA business unit.

He received a bachelor's degree in business administration from Roanoke College and an MBA from California State University, Fresno.

Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Lincoln has operations, manufacturing alliances and joint ventures in 18 countries and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering more than 160 countries. For more information about Lincoln Electric, its products and services, visit the Company's Web site at www.lincolnelectric.com .