For Immediate Release                                                 Exhibit 99
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PRESS RELEASE
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Date:    December 16, 1998
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Contact: Leigh J. Abrams
         President and Chief Executive Officer
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Phone:   (914) 428-9098    Fax:  (914) 428-4581
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                       DREW ACQUIRES THE REMAINING ASSETS
                            AND BUSINESS OF COIL CLIP

      White Plains, New York December 16, 1998... Drew Industries Incorporated
(AMEX: DW) today announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Lippert Components,
Inc. acquired all the assets and business of Coil Clip, Inc. located in Boaz,
Alabama. In May 1998, Lippert acquired the manufactured housing business of Coil
Clip and entered into a supply agreement to purchase steel from Coil Clip. The
current transaction encompasses the acquisition of Coil Clip's remaining assets
and business for approximately $6.5 million comprised of a $500,000 note and
cash of $6.0 million.

      Coil Clip will continue to supply steel parts for Lippert and for
businesses outside the manufactured housing and RV industries, and will add
approximately $10 million in sales to Drew's existing business. This acquisition
should be immediately accretive to Drew's earnings per share. Coil Clip's former
owner and management team will continue to operate Coil Clip and will report to
Lippert management.

      "Since our agreement with Coil Clip earlier this year, our relationship
with Coil Clip has been positive and beneficial, and this transaction is a
natural extension of a very good business arrangement. We believe that this
transaction will help keep our material costs low and maintain our competitive
position within our industries. We anticipate that Coil Clip will enhance Drew's
ability to provide its customers with quality products at reasonable prices,"
said Leigh J. Abrams, President and CEO of Drew.

      Drew, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Kinro, Lippert and Shoals,
supplies a broad array of components for manufactured homes and recreational
vehicles. Manufactured products include windows, doors, chassis, chassis parts,
galvanized steel roofing and new and refurbished axles. The Company also
distributes new and refurbished tires. Approximately 80 percent of the Company's
sales are for manufactured homes, 16 percent are for recreational vehicles, and
4 percent for other industries. The Company operates 32 plants in 16 states.|^|

 For more information about Drew, check our website at WWW.DREWINDUSTRIES.COM.

This press release contains certain statements, including the Company's plans
regarding its operating strategy, its products and performance and its views of
industry prospects, which could be construed to be forward looking statements
within the meaning of the Securities & Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
reflect the Company's current views with respect to future plans, events and
financial performance. The Company has identified certain risk factors which
could cause actual plans and results to differ substantially from those included
in the forward looking statements. These factors include pricing pressures due
to competition, raw material costs (particularly aluminum, steel, vinyl and
glass), inventory adjustments by retailers and interest rates. In addition,
general economic conditions and adverse weather conditions may affect the retail
sale of manufactured homes and RV's.