HARMAN to Establish New Global Development Center in Suzhou, China

Harman International Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HAR), the global premium audio and infotainment group, said today that it will open a new global research and development center in Suzhou, China in mid 2015, initially adding about 200 new employees at the site. Construction of the new 10,000 sq. m. (100,000 sq. ft.) facility will begin in June. The announcement was made during the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.

HARMAN has been active in Suzhou since 2000, when a manufacturing facility was opened to produce a variety of Lifestyle audio, multimedia and mobile products. A new manufacturing plant for automotive audio and infotainment systems was added nearby in 2008, and the facility has since expanded several times to incorporate research and manufacturing for multiple HARMAN businesses. HARMAN employment in Suzhou currently totals about 800 people.

“We are excited to grow our footprint in China once again, contributing to more than five years of continuous investment and expansion,” said Dinesh C. Paliwal, HARMAN Chairman, President and CEO. “The Suzhou complex has been instrumental in supporting both our Asia/Pacific customers and global automotive partners who operate from China. This new development center will significantly strengthen our global R&D value chain, while further leveraging the talent and competitive costs of the region.”

The new custom-built development center in Suzhou will focus on global product design for automotive loudspeakers and amplifiers. The two-story facility will include a pilot manufacturing plant for automotive electronics, validation and environmental test facilities, acoustic systems laboratories, and reference listening rooms. HARMAN will invest about US$16 million for initial construction and outfitting, with room for expanding the facility to host up to 350 employees in the future.

HARMAN currently employs about 2500 people in China, at facilities in Suzhou, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Dandong. The Company supports a number of global automotive partners from the site, as well as a growing number of domestic Chinese automakers. HARMAN has provided the premium audio systems for such milestone events as the Beijing Olympics, the Shanghai World Expo, the China National Day celebration, and hundreds of cinema, sporting and entertainment venues across China. HARMAN Flagship Stores in Beijing and Shanghai are introducing thousands of new consumers to premium HARMAN brands. Led by its activities in China, HARMAN sales to the BRIC emerging markets have enjoyed compound annual growth of around 80 percent over the past five years.

Visit HARMAN during the Beijing International Automotive Exhibition in Hall E2 for a demonstration of HARMAN’s portfolio of infotainment and in-car audio solutions.

About HARMAN

HARMAN (www.harman.com) designs, manufactures and markets a wide range of audio and infotainment solutions for the automotive, consumer and professional markets – supported by 15 leading brands, including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon® and Mark Levinson®. The Company is admired by audiophiles across multiple generations and supports leading professional entertainers and the venues where they perform. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and infotainment systems. HARMAN has a workforce of 14,800 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $4.7 billion for the last twelve months ended December 31, 2013. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.

© 2014 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries.