Upper Saddle River, N.J., Dec. 16 -- ITT Industries has appointed Paul Baldetti President of its Industrial Pump Group. The Industrial Pump Group, part of ITT Industries fluid business, has operations worldwide serving the chemical, petrochemical, paper, mining, power, water, and general industrial markets.

"Paul?s extensive industry experience and proven leadership abilities will fuel our efforts to bring smart, high-efficiency solutions to industrial customers. He is a valuable addition to our senior management team,? said Robert L. Ayers, President of ITT Industries? fluid business.

Mr. Baldetti comes to ITT Industries with extensive domestic and international experience. Since 1994, he has held a variety of leadership roles at the Crane Corporation. He was most recently Group Vice President of Crane Fluid Handing Group. He also served as President of Crane Pumps & Systems, Inc., President of Crane Valves North America, and President of the Crane Valve Group.

He began his business career with Emerson Electric as a Productivity Consultant and was later named Director of Marketing for their Therm-O-Disc Division. After leaving Emerson in 1988, he joined Harbour Group Investments Corp. as President of Burks Pumps, Inc.

Mr. Baldetti holds an MBA from Harvard University and a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Missouri-Rolla.

He will be based at ITT Industries? Industrial Pump Group headquarters, Seneca Falls, New York.

ITT Industries, Inc. (www.ittind.com) is a global engineering and manufacturing company with leading positions in the markets it serves, generating 1998 global sales of $4.5 billion. ITT Industries is the world?s premier supplier of pumps, systems and services to move and control water and other fluids. The company is a major supplier of sophisticated military defense systems, and provides advanced technical and operational services to a broad range of government agencies. ITT Industries also produces connectors, switches and cabling used in telecommunications, computing, aerospace and industrial applications, as well as network services. Further, ITT Industries makes industrial components for a number of other markets, including transportation, construction and aerospace. Based in White Plains, NY, ITT Industries employs approximately 33,000 people around the world.

In addition to the New York Stock Exchange, ITT Industries? stock is traded under the symbol (IIN) on the Midwest, Pacific, London, Frankfurt and Paris exchanges.