Let me welcome you to Global Industrial Technologies' fifth annual
shareholders meeting. We appreciate your being here today and letting us share
with you significant events from 1997 that are focusing your company today.

The Vision

At this time last year we said that we would, during 1997, maximize our
Company's potential by employing a carefully developed strategic plan.

That plan, we anticipated, would support our five-year growth objectives,
initiate divestitures and acquisitions, add new products, put in place cost
reduction programs designed to improve operating results, and drive partnering
opportunities with our employees and customers for mutually shared benefit.

Our strategic plan was developed and approved by the board.

It is predicated on three fundamental directives:

(1) Exit businesses that have limited opportunities for growth and strong
returns,

(2) Invest in our existing businesses where these opportunities exist, and

(3) Add to our portfolio of businesses Company's that can provide growth and
strong returns.

The businesses in which we want to participate have to meet this litmus test:
They must offer opportunity to position us to become an industry, market or
niche leader and provide venues where our competencies will provide an
advantage over the competition.


A Year of Transition

Fiscal 1997 was a pivotal year, one in which we laid the groundwork for
realizing our vision, improving performance, and creating stronger growth
moving forward.

We exited three businesses where our opportunities were limited by either
changing market dynamics, lack of scope, or where leadership potential was not
practical.

These businesses were:

The Marion Power Shovel company,

The non-processing portion of British Jeffrey Diamond in the U.K., and our
partnership interest in Komdresco.

Continuing in 1998 we sold our industrial tool division.


Positioning For Growth

Let me pause here to say that Global's performance in 1997 reflected a
changing, dynamic environment in which we continued to position the Company to
create value for our shareholders as we look to the future.

For fiscal 1997 Global posted a net loss of $4.4 million.

Before special charges of $43.5 million associated with the sale of Marion,
BJD, and Komdresco, 1997 operating profit was $62.9 million compared with
$77.1 million in 1996.

And, as we reported throughout the year, earnings were impacted by
international currency issues, an asset write down at Specialty Equipment, and
necessary equipment maintenance and upgrades at Ameri-Forge.

Based on our objectives, we are in no way satisfied with the Company's
performance in fiscal 1997.

The fiscal year, however, was a pivotal one in which we laid the groundwork
for improved performance and stronger growth moving forward.


Focusing Our Business Opportunities

Following our vision, we exited businesses where our opportunities were
limited by either changing market dynamics, lack of scope, or where market
leadership potential was not achievable.

For these divested businesses to flourish as significant domestic and
international competitors, they would have required too much capital
investment, time, and risk.

In short, we are limiting ourselves to investing in businesses that will
achieve our vision. The proceeds from these sales are helping Global fund
growth opportunities, and repurchase stock.

Here's what we have accomplished to date.

The Refractories Industry: A Time for Change

As we have reported, the domestic refractories business suffers from 30 to 40
percent over capacity with no company having more than 8 to 11% share of the
$2.6 billion North American refractories market.

If our recent tender offer for A.P. Green is successful, our domestic market
share will be significantly greater than our nearest competitor. This will
also position Harbision-Walker as the largest producer and supplier of
refractories in the Western Hemisphere.

As this business is consolidated and synergies realized, Harbison-Walker
should achieve cost reductions from $15 to $20 million each year, even after
factoring in an estimated reduction in A.P. Green sales.

We anticipate operating profit contribution from this acquisition will exceed
those lost through the sale of our INTOOL division.

Additionally, Global's Minerals business should benefit significantly from the
combination with A.P. Green's successful and profitable industrial and
chemical lime operation which makes up 38% of their operating income.
This is an added plus to our Minerals business.


Building A Position of International Leadership

We have taken steps to begin extending our leadership role in refractories
manufacturing and distribution in the Western Hemisphere, to one that
encompasses the World.

Global's joint venture in the Pacific Rim, along with acquisitions in Europe
and South America, are significant steps we've taken in positioning your
company as an industry leader in the production and marketing of refractories.

For example, the Company entered into a joint venture with Siam Cement to
develop, build and operate refractory plants throughout Southeast Asia.

Joining forces with the leading cement producer in the region could help us
seize market share in what has been an area of rapidly growing market
economies.


Asia

Now, the Asian economy is in transition. We are monitoring it closely. As we
look at Asia, we will focus, for the time being, on our export business and
the A.P. Green holdings in Indonesia.

Europe

In the European theatre, Global's Aken Magnesitwerk acquisition in Germany is
giving us tools and products to penetrate new markets in Russia, Europe, the
Middle East, and the Confederation of Independent States, as well as helping
blunt the impact of foreign currency product pricing.
This refractory manufacturer was purchased for approximately $8.4 million and
the assumption of $14.2 million non-recourse in debt.

Aken is an early move toward a long-term strategy to become a global leader in
refractories, adding to our Western Hemisphere leadership position.


South America

Global has also initiated significant production and market gains with
acquisitions in South America this past year.

Our Lota-Green purchase in Conception, Chile in June, added critical mass to
our existing presence at Refractarios Chilenos S.A. in the region.

The acquisition captures significant refractory production capacity for the
country's steel and copper industries and provides penetration into other
signatory countries' markets included in the Mercosur trade agreement.

The acquisition allowed us to win the largest contract in our history, a
record $27 million dollar deal to supply refractory products for the largest
steel producer in Chile.


In Keeping With the Vision: Investing In Ameri-Forge

As I have pointed out, our vision includes investing in businesses that hold
out the promise of capturing a leading role in industry. This is precisely the
case at Ameri-Forge.


Leveraging On Success

The work accomplished in matching manufacturing processes with new market
demands on the flange side, along with developing the new undercarriage
operation on the other, has been significant.

Flange sales volumes increased every year leading up to 1997. We expect this
tradition of sales growth to continue under the experienced leadership of
Herbert Linser.

A number of production enhancements have been initiated on the forge side of
the operation. New press equipment is now in place, and a refurbished 4,000-
ton press is scheduled to come on line in May.

Plans are in place to install a new 6,300-ton press which will help expand our
capacity even more, as well as provide a production resource for new products.

Production bottlenecks are being identified and eliminated that we believe
will eventually provide significant increases in capacity.


A Market Preference for Domestic Products

Our domestic markets, as sales growth has demonstrated over the years, reflect
our customers' preference for "Made In The U.S.A." forged and finished
flanges. Ameri-Forge is providing shorter delivery lead-times, and in most
cases, lower product costs.

Ameri-Forge's market should continue to support the Company's plan for
increased flange production capacity.

This increased capacity will facilitate the capture of additional market share
in the domestic flange business as well as provide a new line of products in
the manufacturing of automotive and truck parts.

An improved equipment repair and preventative maintenance program, new
operating procedures, and new equipment capacity, along with forecasted strong
markets, indicate that 1998 is shaping up to be another record year for
Flange.


Undercarriage: A New Vision

Now for an update on our Undercarriage venture.

The domestic undercarriage industry is anticipating a full line of U.S. based
products that we are poised to provide.

The Undercarriage Division began limited production of grouser shoes in
November of 1997.

Certain production steps have been out-sourced, such as heat treatment of
parts, pending arrival and installation of this type of equipment as well as
other equipment for building capacity.

We expect that by the end of the year everything will be in place for the
production of some 100 chains per day.


So, given the positive developments we've seen during 1997 at Ameri-Forge, and
what we see as strong domestic markets in flanges, automotive parts and
undercarriage assemblies, this business is shaping up as a significant
contributor to future earnings.

It is also an attractive opportunity to establish a leadership role in this
important area of U.S. manufacturing.


The Venture: Specialty Equipment

Looking at our Specialty Equipment segment, Corrosion Technology International
and Processing experienced strong sales and growing markets in 1977.

CTI was acquired in 1996. It is an acknowledged industry leader in the
engineering and manufacturing of specialized polymer concrete products and
showed important progress in 1977, more than doubling profits on a 66.5%
increase in sales.


CTI:  New Markets, New Products

We must point out that world market prices, primarily copper, are depressed
for our major customer's products. This could have a significant impact on
CTI's sales, near term.

Efforts are underway to help offset the current situation in the international
marketplace, especially Southeast Asia, with a vigorous domestic sales push.

This domestic effort includes opportunities to apply CTI's polymer concrete
technology to new products for the wastewater market. It is an area that holds
exciting growth prospects in markets served typically by Portland cement
products.


Processing: A New Alliance

The Processing Division, manufacturers of shredders for paper, wood, tires and
other recyclable raw materials, in addition to coal sizing equipment, is in
the early stage of development of new products, markets and opportunities.

For instance, Specialty Products Shred-Tech group teamed recently with Hewlett
Packard and Micro Metallics (a subsidiary of Noranda, Inc.) in designing and
provisioning a new $3.5 million metal separation plant at Roseville,
California.

The unique facility separates various precious metals and other recyclable
metals and plastics from electronic hardware using Shred-Tech's state of the
art equipment.

The process is designed to reclaim gold, silver and other materials from
various kinds of circuit boards and other electronic components used in
computing, telecommunications and related electronic equipment.

We are in the development stage with these enterprises. They must demonstrate
that they can become industry or niche leaders over time.

They do, however, appear to offer interesting opportunities.


INTOOL: A Time To Harvest

Now, a few comments about INTOOL. This company turned in another strong
performance in 1997.

In keeping with our strategic intentions, we noted conditions that prompted us
to sell the operation for the very attractive consideration of $217.5 million.

INTOOL was divested because it did not fit our strategic intent. To maintain
the Company's market share and profitability would have required an infusion
of substantial new capital, and would still not afford us a leadership
position.

Our choices were clear: make a major investment or exit the business. We
elected to use the opportunity to divest the business and fund strategic
opportunities that offered greater growth potential.

This sale provided the means for us to fund opportunities in refractories and
Ameri-Forge that will be accretive to earnings.


Investing In Ourselves

In addition to all of these operations activities, we continued our pattern of
repurchasing Global shares. During 1997, we acquired a total of 877,352
shares, foremost because we believe them to be undervalued.
We have, since we inaugurated our share buyback program, purchased over six
million Global shares.

This investment signals clearly that we believe firmly in our strategy and
that Global will prosper in the future.


The Vision: Fiscal 1998 and Beyond

Given our refractory acquisitions, the very positive developments within
Ameri-Forge, and the promise of Specialty Products, we feel that we have the
opportunity for improved, consistent operating and earnings growth over the
long-term.

We are pleased about how the activities of fiscal 1997, and the early part of
1998, have positioned our company's interests as industry, market and niche
leaders, creating all the while distinct competitive advantages for us.

We believe firmly that the initiatives set into motion will help us generate
increased consistency in our performance, profit growth, and returns that will
meet our demanding criteria over time.

We appreciate your support during this transition period. We look forward with
enthusiasm rewarding that patience moving forward.

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