MILWAUKEE, Aug. 11 -- A.O. Smith Corporation (NYSE: AOS; Amex: SMCA) today named William F. Buehler and Robert N. Pokelwaldt to its Board of Directors.

Buehler, 58, is executive vice president-business operations with Xerox Corporation of Stamford, Conn., a position he has held since 1997. In this assignment, he is responsible for five business groups: Production Systems; Office Products; Document Services; Channels; and Supplies. He also is responsible for Corporate Strategic Services, which includes worldwide manufacturing and logistics; business development, which oversees acquisitions and strategic alliances; and the Systems Software and Architecture organization. He joined Xerox in 1991 as executive vice president and chief staff officer.

Prior to joining Xerox, Buehler spent 27 years with AT&T Corporation, where he held assignments in sales, marketing, human resources, and general management.

Buehler currently serves on the board of directors for Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., Xerox's Japanese affiliate, and Quest Diagnostics. He is a member of the board of the National Association of Manufacturers and the SEI Center for Advanced Studies in Management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Xerox, with 1997 sales of $18.2 billion, is a world-wide supplier of document-related business solutions, products, and services.

Pokelwaldt, 61, is chairman and chief executive officer of York International Corporation, York, Pa., the largest independent manufacturer of heating, ventilating and air conditioning equipment in the world.

He has been chief executive and a director of York International since 1991 and was named chairman in 1993. He joined York as a vice president and president of its Applied Systems Worldwide in 1988 and was named York president and chief operating officer in 1990.

Prior to joining York International, Pokelwaldt was chairman and chief executive officer of Frick Company, a refrigeration company based in Waynesboro, Pa. Pokelwaldt is also a director of Mohawk Industries, Inc. and Carpenter Technology Corporation and is a member of the board of the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute.

York, with 1997 revenue of $3.2 billion, has manufacturing facilities in 13 states and 13 foreign countries and employs approximately 20,000 people world wide.

A.O. Smith Corporation is a diversified manufacturer with headquarters in Milwaukee, Wis. Its major product lines include fractional horsepower, hermetic, and subfractional horsepower electric motors; residential and commercial water heaters; muncipal, industrial, and agricultural storage products; and fiberglass reinforced piping systems. Its 1997 revenues were $833 million.