PRESS RELEASE 02.29.00

TEC AIR TEC CENTER
Provides Value Added Engineering

WILLOW SPRINGS, IL. - TEC AIR opened its TEChnical Center in May 1997. Since then, TEC AIR has added engineering resources, lab equipment and rapid tooling capabilities to its TEC Center. The TEC Center provides system and component design, performance testing and validation testing of components and systems for air movement applications.

"The TEC Center provides value added engineering resources to our customers to help bring new products to marker faster," says Chick Goldsmith, Business Unit Manager for the Industrial Business Unit of TEC AIR. We help customers solve problems relating to their air movement applications; whether those problems are air flow related, vibration related or sound related" added Goldsmith. TEC AIR's TEC Center capabilities include: two AMCA style airflow chambers, system vibration testing, sound testing, environmental conditioning (temperature and humidity), reliability testing and life/endurance testing. "The TEC Center was developed in response to Customer demand for value added services," says Bob McMurtry, President of TEC AIR. McMurtry adds, "In today's economy, our customers look to us for design and validation engineering services. Our TEC Center provides those services."

TEC AIR's TEC Center also houses its rapid tooling facility. A state-of-the-art CNC mold making facility is located on the lower level of the two story TEC Center. "By building tooling in-house, we can truly be customer driven in our various new product launches as the cost and timing are now within our control versus in the hands of the toolmaker " said McMurtry, TEC AIR designs its molds in-house using 3D solid modeling ProE software. "This helps us design and fabricate molds to our specifications faster than we could using external resources," according to Dave Eisel, Tooling Manager.

The TEC Center also supports TEC AIR's new 63,000 Ft 2 molding facility located in Lewisburg, TN. The new facility in Tennessee will support both the Industrial Business Unit and the Automotive Business Unit of TEC AIR.