CLAREMONT TO BOOST CHAMPION PRODUCTS <CH> STAKE Claremont Group Ltd, a New York investment banking firm, said it intends to boost its current 10 pct stake in Champion Products Inc to as much as 15 pct of the total outstanding common stock. Claremont added that it asked Champion to put two representatives on its nine-member board of directors. Claremont previously disclosed in December that it had agreed to act in concert with Walsh, Greenwood and Co, an affiliated investment firm, to acquire Champion Products. Claremont said it made net purchases of 7,800 Champion Products shares between Jan. 28 and March 18. In a March 20 letter to Champion Chairman John Tanis, Claremont and Walsh representatives Stephen Walsh and John Cirigliano said they were pleased with the company's performance but wanted to take an active management role. "We believe that Champion Products has just begun to evolve into the market leader it will eventually become," they said. "As significant shareholders with mutual interests with the company, we would like to actively participate in this process." Claremont's intentions and the letter were made public in a filing with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission.