Southwall Announces Promotion of Wolfgang Heinze to Vice President of Worldwide Operations

    PALO ALTO, Calif.--May 19, 2003--Southwall Technologies Inc. , a global developer, manufacturer and marketer of thin-film coatings for the automotive glass, electronic display and architectural markets, today reported that Wolfgang Heinze has been promoted to vice president, Worldwide Operations, effective immediately.
    Heinze has been vice president and general manager of Southwall Europe GmbH, located in Dresden, Germany since December 2000. Prior to that Heinze was the Dresden facility plant manager during which time he was responsible for the design and construction of Southwall's new facility. Before joining Southwall Technologies, Heinze held various positions in the chemical and electronics industry in Germany, including FUBA Printed Circuits GmbH, where he was managing director of FUBA's Lower Saxony facility with 1,200 employees. Heinze presently holds the position of president of the Federation of Economy in Saxony, which is an industry group representing 38 separate companies that employ approximately 360,000 employees in Saxony. Heinze is also a member of the Board of the German Federal Industrial Associations. Heinze is expected to remain in Germany.
    "I am very pleased to announce the promotion of Wolfgang to his new position and am delighted that he has decided to take on this very important role for the Company," said Thomas G. Hood, president and CEO. "Wolfgang has been responsible from the very beginning of the Dresden project and he has done an exceptional job. Today the Dresden facility is equipped with three large, state-of-the-art coating machines capable of producing a wide range of automotive and architectural products. We look forward to Wolfgang's continued leadership in the anticipated future growth in that facility, while his experience and capabilities will have added value to the management of our U.S. facilities in Palo Alto and Tempe. As Southwall formalizes and implements its Asian growth strategies, Wolfgang's international and operations expertise will be of great importance."

    About Southwall Technologies Inc.

    Southwall Technologies Inc., designs and produces thin film coatings that selectively absorb, reflect or transmit light. Southwall products are used in a number of automotive, electronic display and architectural glass products to enhance optical and thermal performance characteristics, improve user comfort and reduce energy costs. Southwall is an ISO 9001:2000-certified manufacturer and exports advanced thin film coatings to over 25 countries around the world. Southwall's customers include Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Mitsui Chemicals, Renault, Peugeot-Citroen, Volvo, Saint-Gobain SEKURIT, Pilkington, HP and Mitsubishi Electric.

    This press release may contain forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995), including, without limitation, statements regarding the company's expectations, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the company on the date hereof, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those presented. These risks include the possibility that the Company will not achieve any future growth or will experience losses, at its Dresden facility (either in terms of the size of operations, revenues or margins), that Southwall's Asian growth strategies will not be successful, that Mr. Heinze's promotion will not benefit the Company, and that shipments to customers will be materially less than anticipated, as well as risks associated with its failure to meet covenants under credit facilities and strains on the company's liquidity. Further risks are detailed in the company's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in the company's most recent Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002, filed on March 31, 2003 and Form 10-Q for the year ended March 30, 2003, filed May 14, 2003.