CLEVELAND, OHIO...Ernie Green, president and chief executive officer of an Ohio-based automotive components company, was elected to the Eaton Corporation board of directors at the company's annual meeting of shareholders held here today. Green replaces Hooper G. Pattillo, a Georgia businessman and Eaton director for 16 years, who retired from the board.

Green, 56, founded EGI, Inc. in 1981. The company employs 700 at manufacturing sites in Dayton, Greenville and New Madison, OH, Williamstown, KY and Daytona Beach, FL. EGI produces automotive wheelcovers, body trim accessories, engine and transmission mounts, weatherstripping, door lock modules, stampings, fabricated rubber products, and decorative plastic and metal trim for several automotive original equipment manufacturers, including General Motors, Chrysler and Honda.

A native of Columbus, GA, Green graduated from the University of Louisville in 1961 with a bachelor of science degree. Following his graduation, Green played football for the Cleveland Browns as a starting halfback from 1962 until his retirement in 1968, and was named to the All-Pro teams in 1966 and 1967.

After a one-year stint as a coach with the Browns, Green was named Assistant Vice-President for Student Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, and in 1974 joined International Management Group, Inc., also in Cleveland, as Executive Director and Vice-President of the firm's Team Sports Division. In 1981, he left IMG to form EGI in Dayton.

A resident of Centerville, Ohio, Green is on the board of directors of Bank One, Dayton N.A., DayMed-HMO, Dayton Power & Light, and Duriron, all in Dayton, and of Acordia, Inc., in Indianapolis. His other Dayton activities include service as a trustee for WPTD-Channel 16, as a board member for the Area Progress Council, and membership on the Dayton Board of Education Business Advisory Committee.

Eaton Corporation is a global manufacturer of highly engineered products which serve vehicle, industrial, construction, commercial, aerospace and marine markets. Principal products include truck transmissions and axles, engine components, hydraulic products, electrical power distribution and control equipment, ion implanters and a wide variety of controls. Headquartered at Eaton Center in Cleveland, the company has 51,000 employees and 150 manufacturing sites in 18 countries around the world. Sales for 1994 were $6.1 billion.