Duraswitch and Hanaco Form Technology Alliance; Combining Electronic Switch and Silicone Rubber Elastomer Technologies

    PHOENIX--Dec. 11, 2001--Duraswitch Industries Inc. and Hanaco Manufacturing Co. have formed a technology alliance to bring together Duraswitch's next-generation electronic switch technology and Hanaco's silicone rubber keypad overlays.
    Through the alliance, the two companies will bring together their resources and expertise in engineering, training and marketing.
    "Hanaco's capabilities in design and engineering of elastomer keypads provide outstanding options for our licensees and their customers," said Tim Kuhn, vice president of business development for Duraswitch.
    "Many of our licensees are already using elastomer keypads with our PushGate product line. This alliance will allow us to better capitalize on the sector of the market that prefers silicone rubber keys."
    Devin Asakura, national sales manager at Hanaco commented, "The PushGate(TM) product line maintains a distinctive tactile feel under the rubber interface of a silicone keypad. The ability to integrate our silicone keypad and the PushGate product line makes the technologies a perfect pair."
    The combination of Duraswitch's and Hanaco's technology enables each company to leverage the others' solutions for increased market penetration. Duraswitch and Hanaco share several key target industries including: appliances, medical equipment, security systems, point-of-sale equipment, musical equipment, test and measurement devices, and computer and peripheral equipment.
    "The complementary markets and cross selling opportunities bring advantages for both of our companies. We broaden market exposure for our technologies by leveraging our combined product attributes as a unique switch solution," said Bob Brilon, president of Duraswitch.
    "At Duraswitch, our focus is on expanding awareness of our technologies' various capabilities to our 23 licensees, as well as to the product manufacturer who ultimately incorporates electronic switches."
    Through this strategic alliance, Duraswitch and Hanaco engineers will join forces to design unique advanced switch solutions for their customers and will cross train each company's engineers and Duraswitch's licensees on the attributes and applications of the combined technologies.
    Joint marketing efforts are already underway with planned direct marketing campaigns and sample panels for trade shows that incorporate an elastomer keypad over the Duraswitch technology.

    About Hanaco

    Hanaco Manufacturing Co. is a privately-owned manufacturer of silicone rubber keypads with over 20 years of experience. It has manufacturing facilities in the United States, China and Taiwan. Visit www.hanaco.com for more information.

    About Duraswitch

    Duraswitch Industries Inc. licenses, engineers, and markets its patented electronic switch technology to switch manufacturers and OEMs worldwide (U.S. Patent Nos. 5,523,730 / 5,666,096 / 5,867,082 / 5,990,772 / 6,023,213 / 6,069,545 / 6,069,552 / 6,130,593 / 6,137,387 / 6,262,646). Visit www.duraswitch.com or call 480/586-3300 for more information.

    This news release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Risks and uncertainties that could cause results to differ materially from those projected are described from time to time in our documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Form 10KSB.
    These forward-looking statements represent the company's judgment as of the date of the press release. Duraswitch disclaims, however, any intent or obligation to update these forward-looking statements.