Southwall Appoints Robert R. Freeman as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

6 September 2000

Southwall Appoints Robert R. Freeman as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

    PALO ALTO, Calif.--Sept. 6, 2000--Southwall Technologies Inc. announced that Robert R. Freeman has joined the company as senior vice president, finance and chief financial officer (CFO).
    His appointment to the CFO position is effective immediately.
    Freeman has held positions of chief financial officer for several large engineering and construction companies over the last 15 years. Most recently, he was the senior vice president, CFO of Rosendin Electric, a $240 million Silicon Valley-based electrical contractor specializing in design-build work for technology companies. He also served as assistant treasurer at a multi-billion dollar New York Stock Exchange-traded conglomerate. Freeman holds a bachelor's of arts degree from Loyola Marymount University and a master's of business administration degree from the University of Southern California. He lives in nearby Los Altos, Calif. with his family.
    "Bob is an excellent addition to our management team," said Thomas G. Hood, Southwall's president and chief executive officer. "His strong leadership and experience in financial management will be a major asset to Southwall. Not only does Bob have strong systems experience, which will benefit us greatly as we work to upgrade our financial reporting systems, we also expect that his background in financing growth will help him play a major role as the company continues to expand to meet increasing customer demand."

    About Southwall Technologies Inc.

    Southwall Technologies (www.southwall.com) designs and produces technologically advanced thin film coatings that selectively absorb, reflect or transmit electromagnetic radiation. Southwall products are used in a number of architectural, automotive and electronic glass products to enhance optical and thermal performance characteristics, improve user comfort and reduce energy costs. Southwall exports advanced thin film coatings to more than 25 countries around the world for use in products manufactured by such companies as Audi, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Renault, Peugeot-Citroen, Volvo, Mitsubishi Electric, and Samsung.

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    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 uncertainty of the Company's ongoing review of prior periods, defaults under credit facilities associated with the restatement and strains on the Company's liquidity. Further risks are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in the Company's most recent Form 10-K.

    Note to Editors: There should be an umlaut over the "e" in "Citroen" above. That symbol was omitted for transmission purposes only.