Lincoln Composites NGV Fuel Tank Plant Opens
ROSWELL, Ga., Aug. 30 - Advanced Technical Products Inc. (NASDAQ:ATPX) announced today that its Lincoln Composites division's new Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) fuel tank manufacturing facility is fully operational. This new facility has over 55,000 square feet which is more than twice the area of the previous manufacturing facility and provides the capacity to meet the growing demand for lightweight NGV tanks. In addition to the increase in manufacturing capacity, the move has enabled manufacturing support functions, and product sales and marketing to be located in the same facility as the manufacturing operation. The centralization of these support functions improves communications and provides quicker response to customers needs. An open house ceremony will be held on Monday, August 30, 1999, in Lincoln, Nebraska, to celebrate the successful operation of its new plant with employees, customers, suppliers, press and visiting dignitaries.
"The alternative fuel industry continues to benefit from the Company's ongoing investment in the NGV market," said Rick Rashilla, President of Lincoln Composites. "Facility expansion and NGV equipment additions in 1998, coupled with our dedicated production team, provided the manufacturing capacity necessary to support our record OEM product deliveries earlier this year and we have room to grow." During the past twelve months, international deliveries have taken large volumes of Lincoln's TUFFSHELL(TM) NGV Fuel Tanks to France, Japan and Mexico. Rashilla added, "In addition to the broad global acceptance of our lightweight, plastic lined tank, our field evaluation data and analysis have proven the robust design and safety of our product. Our OEM customers in the sedan, truck and transit bus markets are very satisfied with in-service durability and fast fill characteristics of the 28,000 TUFFSHELL tanks that have been sold to date."
Lincoln Composites (formerly a division of Brunswick Defense) specializes in filament winding high performance composite structures. This core technology was developed for the aerospace and defense industry beginning in 1963 when the original plant was built. In addition to the NGV industry, the Company continues to serve the Aerospace & Defense, Oil & Gas industries, and additional commercial markets.
ATP is the parent corporation of five divisions that include Lincoln Composites, Marion Composites, Lunn Industries, Alcore Inc., and Intellitec. The Company designs, develops and manufactures advanced composite based materials and products from continuous high strength fibers which optimize structural performance while minimizing the components' weight. ATP believes it is one of a very few with the ability to utilize multiple processes, such as, autoclave lamination, filament winding, resin transfer molding and metal bonding. Using these processes, the Company manufactures products for the aerospace and defense markets, as well as for commercial applications including oil and gas tubulars and fuel tanks for Natural Gas Vehicles. The Company is also a leader in the development and production of chemical defense systems.
Contact: Lisa Lawson, Director of Communications of ATP, 770-993-0291, or llawson@atpx.com; or William E. Dick, VP NGV Products, of Lincoln Composites, 402-464-6611, ext. 3391, or bdick@lincolncomposites.com; or Investor Relations - Harvey A. Goralnick of FOCUS Partners LLC, 212-752-9445, or atpx@focuspartners.com, for ATP.