3TEX Works with School of Art and Design to Help Create Next-Generation Boat

Business Wire, Sept 24, 2001

Business Editors

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK AREA, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 24, 2001

Design Boat to be Displayed at October 3-6 Composite Fabricators

Association Show

3TEX, Inc. (www.3TEX.com), a world leader in designing and developing revolutionary 3D fabrics and composites, announced today a strategic partnership with the Savannah College of Art and Design.

Through the partnership, faculty and students from SCAD's Marine Design and Boat Design/Prototyping classes used 3TEX's patented 3WEAVE(TM) products to create a futuristic 21-foot family sport boat.

The SCAD boat will be on display this Fall at the Composites Fabricators Association (CFA) show and will also be entered in the Awards for Composites Excellence (ACE) Competition. The CFA show, which is being held October 3-6, 2001 in Tampa, FL, is one of the largest all-composites exhibitions in North America. The ACE Competition recognizes company achievements that are bringing the composites industry to the forefront.

The team is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students taking SCAD's Marine Design and Boat Design/Prototyping classes. Using 3TEX's patented 3WEAVE(TM), the SCAD team designed a next-generation boat for a family of four that enjoys a variety of boating activities, from fishing, to water-skiing to entertaining. The team, under the direction of product design professor Tom Gattis, used 3TEX's innovative materials to move beyond current design trends in boating and create an aesthetically pleasing product.

The SCAD team constructed their designed boat with the help of 3TEX and other project partners, such as Intermarine Savannah, Stingray Powerboats and Raymarine On Board. 3TEX's patented 3WEAVE(TM) makes the boat have a lighter, stiffer, and stronger structure, which enables the boat to move safer at faster speeds. The SCAD team used composites to construct the boat to prevent rusting and rotting from occurring, therefore, keeping the boat at a low maintenance level.

"The Savannah College of Art and Design is one of the leading design institutions in the country," said Brad Lienhart, CEO of 3TEX. "The team's creative expertise in design is evident with their innovative boat. We look forward to working with the school's faculty in the future and seeing this exciting boat at the CFA show in Tampa."

About 3TEX, Inc.

Based in the Research Triangle Park Area, NC, 3TEX is a world leader in designing and developing revolutionary 3-D fabrics and composites. A spin-off from N.C. State University, 3TEX has design, product development, and production facilities in Cary and Rutherfordton, NC. With strategic alliances in place with technology centers and Universities around the world, and more than half a dozen revolutionary design patents approved or pending, 3TEX is developing next generation materials that are stronger than steel and lighter than aluminum. 3TEX was recently featured in Research Triangle Park Metro Magazine and was listed as one of the "High-Tech" 100 manufacturing companies to watch.

About Savannah College of Art and Design

The Savannah College of Art and Design, located in Savannah, Ga., is a private, non-profit, accredited, tax-exempt institution. The college offers bachelor of fine arts, master of architecture, master of fine arts and master of arts degrees. Majors are offered in architectural history, architecture, art history, computer art, fashion, fibers, furniture design, graphic design, historic preservation, illustration, interior design, media and performing arts, metals and jewelry, painting, photography, product design, sequential art, and video/film. For media information, call Angela Hendrix at 912/525-5225 or visit the college's Web site at www.scad.edu. E-mail may be sent to ahendrix@scad.edu. For admission information, please call 912/525-5100 or 800-869-7223 or send e-mail to admission@scad.edu.