1
                                             Filed by Commercial Intertech Corp.
                           Pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act of 1933
                                     Subject Company: Commercial Intertech Corp.
                                                   Commission File No: 333-96453

LETTER SENT TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES OF COMMERCIAL INTERTECH CORP. ATTACHING A
NEWSPAPER ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO NEWSPAPER, THE VINDICATOR,
ON MARCH 13, 2000 IN CONNECTION WITH THE MERGER OF COMMERCIAL INTERTECH CORP.
INTO PARKER-HANNIFIN CORPORATION



   2
Dear Fellow Employees:


     Those of you who do not receive The Vindicator may have missed the
full-page ad that Parker-Hannifin placed in the March 13th edition.

     As the advertisement concisely states why the proposed merger of our two
companies will be a positive action for employees, shareholders, and our
community, I thought you should have the opportunity to review its content
which is reproduced here.

/s/ Paul J. Powers
   3

A MESSAGE TO SHAREHOLDERS, EMPLOYEES AND FRIENDS OF COMMERCIAL INTERTECH

WE WANT YOU TO KNOW. . .


The proposed merger of Commercial Intertech and Parker Hannifin is an important
issue not only to Commercial Intertech shareholders, employees and the Mahoning
Valley community; it also is important to all of us at Parker.

This month, people from our organizations are working on preliminary plans to
grow our business together, as Commercial Intertech shareholders are being asked
to approve the merger. We'd like to take this opportunity to update you on our
progress:

- -    TEAMS OF COMMERCIAL INTERTECH AND PARKER MANAGERS have been established to
     identify joint opportunities to create value for employees, customers and
     shareholders.

- -    BECAUSE THE VAST MAJORITY OF JOBS AT THE YOUNGSTOWN HEADQUARTERS support
     Commercial Intertech's operating units, they will be retained. Our top
     priority is to place people in positions well suited for their abilities
     and aspirations.

- -    WE ARE LEARNING FROM ONE ANOTHER, and our experience confirms what we
     already knew: The cultures and combined strengths we have to offer hold
     great promise for the future of our people and the stakeholders of our
     companies.

- -    COMMERCIAL'S OPERATING UNITS WILL CONTINUE AS LOCALLY RUN BUSINESSES, with
     unit managers given greater profit-management responsibility under Parker.
     This has been our history with other companies who have joined our family.

- -    OUR BUSINESSES OVERLAP IN VERY FEW PLACES. In fact, our combined products
     and plants are keys to our success going forward. Parker is ready to grow
     the business, and we have the financial capacity to invest in growth.

- -    DEMONSTRATING OUR COMMITMENT TO GROWTH, we recently acquired Gresen
     Hydraulics as a complementary addition to Commercial's existing product
     lines. And we see many exciting prospects ahead.

Parker has welcomed many new companies to create an organization 40,000 people
around the world, each of whom has benefited from and contributed to the
strength

   4

of the company. We invite you to vote your proxy to share in that strength, and
ensure the future prosperity of the Mahoning Valley.

From the People of Parker Hannifin



For more information about the merger and our companies, please visit
www.phstock.com.






   5


                               * * * * * * * * * *

                                 INVESTOR NOTICE
                                 ---------------

Investors and shareholders are advised to read the proxy statement/prospectus
regarding Parker-Hannifin Corporation's proposed merger with Commercial
Intertech Corp. referenced in the foregoing information, because it contains
important information. This proxy statement/prospectus was filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission by Parker as part of Parker's Registration
Statement on Form S-4, which became effective February 28, 2000. Investors and
shareholders may obtain a free copy of the proxy statement/prospectus and other
documents filed by Commercial Intertech at the Securities and Exchange
Commission's web site at www.sec.gov. The proxy statement/prospectus and such
other documents also may be obtained by directing such request to Commercial
Intertech Corp., 1775 Logan Avenue, Youngstown, Ohio, 44502, (330) 746-8011.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

Forward-looking statements contained in this and other written and oral reports
are made based on known events and circumstances at the time of release, and as
such, are subject in the future to unforeseen uncertainties and risks. All
statements regarding future performance, events or developments, including
statements related to earnings accretion and synergies to be realized in the
merger, are forward-looking statements. It is possible that the company's future
performance may differ materially from current expectations expressed in these
forward-looking statements, due to a variety of factors such as changes in:
business relationships with and purchases by or from major customers or
suppliers; competitive market conditions and resulting effects on sales and
pricing; increases in raw-material costs which cannot be recovered in product
pricing; global economic factors, including currency exchange rates and
difficulties entering new markets; failure of the merger to be consummated;
ability to successfully integrate Commercial Intertech's business with Parker's;
and factors noted in the Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed by Parker in
connection with the proposed merger with Commercial Intertech and in Commercial
Intertech's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.