(April 9, 2004 - Minneapolis, MN) Conwed announced today that it acquired Atlantic Extrusion Company’s (AEC) assets and technology for producing oriented and extruded square netting and will begin servicing AEC’s customers immediately.

Conwed is positioned to expand through similar strategic acquisitions in the near future. “We’ve been very diligent over the last year to streamline our business and position ourselves for growth,” explained Mark Lewry, President and CEO. “We are exploring strategic investment opportunities that will allow Conwed to more effectively add value and capacity to our breadth of solutions.”

As the leader in the marketplace, Conwed has continuously reinvested in the business. Over the last five years, Conwed significantly expanded its Athens, Georgia manufacturing facility and built a new manufacturing facility in Europe. Conwed will continue to invest in its business through acquisitions and expansion. Specifically, Conwed is pursuing companies for acquisition that produce extruded or oriented plastic products or specialize in converting or laminating.

Last month, Conwed debuted in Proctor & Gamble’s Wash & Toss™ with a material that strengthens the disposable wipe and enhances scrubbing power without marring. In 2003, they commercialized a product that provides slip-resistance to the new roofing underlayment materials. These applications have been driven by Conwed’s patented Thermanet® technology which has a built in adhesive to easily bond to a variety of materials. “We are realizing an incredible synergy in markets such as, building, cleaning, and hygiene because our material and value added services provides an array of benefits to next generation value-added products,” said Steve Salvato, Vice President Global Sales. “Benefits of our net include scrubability, slip-resistance, stretch and recovery, reinforcement, and separation.”