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Sheldahl Receives Patent for SmartHORN

19 November 1998

Sheldahl Receives Patent for SmartHORN

    New Hornswitch Ensures Vehicle Horn Reliability, Ease of Actuation and
               Assembly; $40 - $50 Million Annual Served Market

    NORTHFIELD, Minn., Nov. 19 -- Sheldahl, Inc. ,
today announced that it had received a patent from the United States Patent
and Trademark Office for its automotive SmartHORN(R) hornswitch technology.
Vehicle horns -- even within the same model family -- vary dramatically in
reliability and in the amount of force required for actuation. The SmartHORN
has been designed to eliminate these problems. The Company's solution can be
incorporated into any horn design and easily adjusted for the proper actuation
force, in contrast with existing mechanical horn technology with its widely
fluctuating actuation force requirements and myriad design versions. Sheldahl
said that customers are in the process of designing the new technology into
their 2001 year models, with production to begin in mid-calendar year 2000.
The Company estimates that the total served market for its new hornswitch
technology is $40 to $50 million annually.
    Said Edward L. Lundstrom, Sheldahl, Inc., President, "This patent enhances
Sheldahl's position as a leader in the design and development of  interconnect
products for the automotive market. The unique SmartHORN technology reflects
Sheldahl's strengths in product development, high-technology materials
manufacturing, high-volume flexible circuit fabrication, and component
assembly."
    The SmartHORN is mounted on the steering wheel in front of the airbag. It
has been designed to solve such automotive design challenges as:
    -- Design freedom -- SmartHORN operates reliably in complex curves and
provides electronic "tuning" capability that eliminates many multiple design
iterations.
    -- Switching reliability and consistency -- SmartHORN activates the horn
electronically, not mechanically, providing a significant increase in
reliability and actuation force consistency in all environmental conditions.
    -- Assembly issues -- SmartHORN's intelligent electronics automatically
compensate for variations in the assembly of the steering wheel, such as
molded part tolerance and airbag pack variance.

    Sheldahl is a leading producer of high-density substrates, high-quality
flexible printed circuitry, and flexible laminates, primarily for sale to the
automotive electronics and datacommunications markets. The Company, which is
headquartered in Northfield, Minn., has operations in Northfield; Longmont,
Colo.; Detroit, Mich.; South Dakota; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; Chihuahua
Chih., Mexico; and sales offices in Hong Kong, China, and Mainz, Germany.
Sheldahl's common stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market tier of the
Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol: SHEL. Sheldahl news and information can
be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sheldahl.com
    Statements contained here, other than historical data, may be
forward-looking and subject to risks and uncertainties including, but not
limited to, those set forth in the Company's annual report, 10K, 10Q, and
other SEC filings.