ENTEK DONATES TWIN-SCREW EXTRUDER TO OREGON STATE UNIVERSITY

Machine Will Be Used for Wood-Plastic Composites Research and Development

Lebanon, OR (March 26, 2007) . . . ENTEK is pleased to announce that it has donated an E-MAX™ E-27mm twin-screw extruder with auxiliary equipment to the Department of Wood Science and Engineering at Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis, Oregon. The machine, donated in 2006, has recently been started-up and is now in full operation.

On a recent visit to OSU, ENTEK Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Dr. Kirk Hanawalt met with Dr. Kaichang Li, Associate Professor/Wood Science and Engineering, College of Forestry, and saw the E-27 machine in operation. “We are happy to partner with OSU to find new and better ways to produce WPC products,” he said.

The ENTEK E-MAX™ 27mm twin-screw extruder is an ideal laboratory-sized/low volume production machine. Like all ENTEK extruders, the E-27 features co-rotating technology for the highest quality material mixing and is manufactured at the company’s headquarters in Lebanon, Oregon.

WPC R&D at OSU

The quest continues throughout the industry to develop aesthetic, maintenance-free WPC products that continue to look like wood over the years but won’t rot, splinter, warp or deteriorate over time. Much of the research and development of WPC technology is happening at leading universities around the globe. OSU’s Department of Wood Science and Engineering has been ranked by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as one of the top four such programs in North America. Its mission is “to use science, technology, engineering and business practices to help society meet its needs for wood products and keep U.S. companies competitive in a global marketplace.”

In a letter to ENTEK from Thomas McLain, Professor and Head of the Department of Wood Science and Engineering at OSU, he said “Your gift greatly enhances our research capacity in wood-plastic composites and is a missing link for our equipment chain that allows us to transfer our laboratory results to commercially viable technologies . . . our goal is to use your gift to develop more commercially viable products and technologies that capitalize on the abundant low-grade woody biomass in the Pacific Northwest and to help our domestic industry be more globally competitive.”

About ENTEK

ENTEK Extruders are produced by ENTEK Manufacturing, Inc. Headquartered in Lebanon, Oregon, USA, ENTEK is a customer focused manufacturer of turnkey production systems, twin-screw extruders, and components. The company is a leader in the extrusion of natural fiber-plastic composites (wood decking), pelletizing, custom compounding (mixing of colorants, fillers, etc), specialty sheet lines, and other markets including food and medical applications. In addition to producing state-of-the-art twin screw extruders, ENTEK’s highly-trained engineering department helps companies optimize production, and ENTEK’s turnkey expertise helps customers establish complete plant-wide operations, often from the ground up.

ENTEK began operations in the 1980’s as a producer of highly filled specialized plastic sheet for the maintenance-free automotive battery market. At that time the company was purchasing commercially available twin-screw extruders to support its core business, but quickly determined that it needed to develop its own extrusion solutions to support production of this difficult to process material. ENTEK Manufacturing, Inc. was established initially as a sister company to ENTEK International, to provide machinery and all turnkey engineering support.

Building off this success with its sister company, ENTEK has grown to become one of the industry’s leading providers of twin screw extrusion solutions. The company provides complete, turnkey engineering support that enables customers to develop and operate highly productive, efficient processing plants for a wide variety of materials. ENTEK Extruders feature high throughput and wear resistant components that can successfully process highly abrasive materials with minimal downtime.

Today, ENTEK is committed to continuing its dynamic growth by helping customers meet or exceed their business objectives, worldwide.