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Atlas Technologies Awarded Ford Q1

13 March 2000

Atlas Technologies Awarded Ford Q1

    FENTON, Mich., March 10 Ford Motor Company today presented
Atlas Technologies, Inc. the Q1 award -- one of the automotive manufacturer's
highest awards for supplier quality.
    The Q1 award, established in 1981, is recognized at Ford as a key
indicator of outstanding supplier quality, product delivery, supply chain
management, engineering, and continuous improvement.
    "The Ford Q1 award and our ISO 9001 certification," stated Michael D.
Austin, President & CEO of Atlas in accepting the award, "rank among our most
significant accomplishments and demonstrate Atlas' commitment to excellence as
a supplier of press automation systems, cells, equipment, and tooling for the
automotive, appliance, and other large sheet metal stamping operations."
    Atlas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Michigan-based holding company
Productivity Technologies Corp. , and is a leading manufacturer
and integrator of productivity enhancing tools and methods such as quick die
change and storage-retrieval systems, stacking and destacking equipment and
pin pallets, robotic transfer press automation and finger tooling, and
flexible secondary work cells and parts handling for end-of-line operations.
    Cautionary Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995: Statements of this Press Release may constitute "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995 that are based on the beliefs of the company and its management.  Any
statements contained herein which are not historical facts or which contain
the words expect, believe, project, estimate, seek, anticipate, could, may,
and similar statements shall be deemed forward-looking statements.  The
Company may be unable to realize its plans and objectives due to various
important factors.  These factors include but are not limited to the potential
softening of the domestic and foreign markets for automobiles, automotive
parts and industrial machinery resulting in reduced demand for the Company's
automation equipment; potential technological developments in the metal
forming and handling automation equipment markets which render the Company's
automation equipment noncompetitive or obsolete; the failure of the Company's
older automation equipment to be Year 2000 compliant; and the tightening of
credit availability generally or under the Company's credit facility which
renders the Company unable to access needed working capital.