Zoltek Partners with BMW

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI - February 15, 2001 - Zoltek Companies, Inc., today announced that it has entered into a strategic development and supplier partnership with BMW Group. Under the agreement, Zoltek will provide the German automotive company with carbon fibers to be used in the development of lightweight but superstrong car bodies, panels and other parts.

In a press release announcing the agreement, BMW stated: It is the aim of BMW to be able to offer production-series cars made with carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic material within the next five years. BMW is developing and testing the required technologies in a pilot plant at its Innovation and Technology Center at Landshut, Germany. Zoltek is an ideal partner for BMW since Zoltek has already developed methods of producing high-quality fiber composite raw materials at low costs and in large quantities.

Heavier and bigger does not mean safer. We believe that carbon fibers are destined to revolutionize the automotive industry within the next decade, said Zsolt Rumy, Zoltek s Chairman and CEO. We are extremely pleased to be teamed with BMW a name that is synonymous with innovation and quality the world over. We believe that BMW is further along than any other auto company in their understanding and appreciation of the huge potential benefits of carbon fiber not just in taking weight out, but in improving passenger safety and promoting the larger goal of sustainable development. They want to be a differentiator. They want to be the leader.

A critical objective for BMW, which has been the No. 1 car manufacturer on the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index for the past two years, is the creation of a new generation of vehicles that consume less fuel and generate less pollution than those on the road today. BMW's Innovation and Technology Center in Landshut aims to develop and prove the production technologies for a superstrong, lightweight car that could perform as well as existing BMW vehicles without compromising vehicle safety.

BMW could go into production with carbon-fiber car bodies within five years and the strategy Zoltek has followed over the past five years is specifically geared for meeting such demand. This is one of the reasons why BMW selected Zoltek as the supplier of choice, said Dr. Torsten Flemming, the CFK Project leader for BMW.

BMW is proceeding with a plan that calls for approximately 200 pounds of carbon fiber per car. In designing a car body made entirely with carbon composites, the car company will go into production first with a limited production, top-of-the-line car. If successful, carbon-fiber car bodies would appear in progressively larger volume production cars. The initial quantities of carbon fiber to be supplied to BMW will be relatively small and will not have a major impact on Zoltek's revenues. Anticipated development costs associated with the project will be significant in the next two years, Rumy said. Longer term, the impact on revenues and profits could be significant.

The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties. Zoltek's actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors, including the Company's ability to manage its growth, development of carbon fiber markets and the recently acquired businesses and amend or refinance its credit agreement.

Zoltek is an applied technology and materials company. Zoltek's Carbon Fiber Business Unit is primarily focused on the manufacturing and application of carbon fibers used as reinforcement material in composites. Zoltek's Intermediates Business Unit develops, manufactures and markets reinforcements, specialty resins, consumable supplies and manufacturing equipment for the composite manufacturing industry. It also does composite design and engineering to support the Company's materials business. Zoltek's Hungarian-based Specialty Products Business Unit manufactures and markets acrylic fibers, nylon products and industrial materials.

For further information contact:

Zsolt Rumy, CEO or Dan Greenwell, CFO
3101 McKelvey Road
St. Louis, MO 63044
(314) 291-5110