SI Technologies Receives $2.5 Million Order

8 February 1999

SI Technologies Receives $2.5 Million Order to Supply Air-Bearing Transporters for Chassis Assembly At Caterpillar Tractor's Peoria Manufacturing Facility

    SEATTLE--Feb. 8, 1999--SI Technologies, Inc. today announced that its AeroGo subsidiary has received a contract from Caterpillar, Inc. for the design and manufacture of nine 100,000-pound capacity Transporters to be installed at Caterpillar's tractor manufacturing plant in Peoria, Illinois.
    The Transporters will be utilized to move large tractor frames and machine fixtures through a series of flexible staging, assembly, engine/transmission installation, and final testing procedures. The self-contained AeroGo Transporters are powered by large on-board battery systems which utilize "opportunity charging" throughout the tractor manufacturing facility. Each Transporter will be radio-controlled by a single operator and will provide omni-directional flexibility during the performance of its manufacturing and transport functions.
    "We are pleased that Caterpillar has selected AeroGo's Transporters to enhance the productivity of its tractor manufacturing and testing operations in Peoria," commented Rick Beets, president and chief executive officer of SI Technologies, Inc. "AeroGo Transporters will constitute an integral part of the intermittent flow assembly line and will provide an unprecedented degree of freedom and mobility throughout the assembly line process. The Transporters will pick up and deliver heavy crawler tractor chassis assemblies on multiple sets of universal support stands at each assembly station throughout the manufacturing facility. Deliveries of the Transporters are scheduled to commence in calendar year 1999 and extend through the year 2001."
    This contract for Peoria follows Caterpillar's earlier decision to use AeroGo's air-bearing and wheeled Transporters to move electric generator sets through the various stages of production at one of its other plants.
    SI Technologies, Inc. is a rapidly-growing designer, manufacturer and marketer of high-performance industrial sensors/controls and engineered equipment and systems. Recent acquisitions have diversified SI Technologies' revenue base and positioned the Company as a consolidator of technologies, products and companies within the $70 billion industrial sensors, controls and materials handling equipment industries. The Company's goal is to become a global provider of devices, equipment and systems for the handling, inspection and measurement of goods and materials. Key markets served by SI Technologies include aerospace/aviation, food, forestry, manufacturing, mining, transportation/distribution and waste management.
    SI Technologies, Inc. is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and its common stock trades on Nasdaq under the symbol "SISI".

    This press release includes statements which may constitute "forward-looking" statements, usually containing the words "believe", "estimate", "project", "expect" or similar expressions. These statements are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements inherently involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that would cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, continued acceptance of the Company's products in the marketplace, competitive factors, dependence upon third-party vendors, and other risks detailed in the Company's periodic report filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release.