Park Electrochemical Corp Announces Election of Vice President in Charge of European Business Unit

LAKE SUCCESS, New York, May 22, 2000…Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE-PKE) announced the election of Clive Hepplestone as Vice President of Park Electrochemical in charge of Nelco/Dielektra Europe, the company’s European business unit. Mr. Hepplestone was also elected as the Managing Director of Nelco/Dielektra Europe. Nelco/Dielektra Europe includes the following subsidiaries of the company: New England Laminates (U.K.) Ltd. located in Skelmersdale, England, Nelco, S.A. located in Mirebeau, France, and Dielektra GmbH located in Cologne, Germany.

Mr. Hepplestone originally joined the company in 1978 and has held positions of increasing responsibility in the company’s European business unit in the areas of finance and accounting, operations and marketing and sales. Most recently, Mr. Hepplestone served as the Commercial Director for the company’s Nelco/Dielektra European business unit with overall responsibility for the company’s sales and marketing effort in Europe. Prior to 1978, Mr. Hepplestone held financial positions with Courtaulds, Baird Textile Holdings and Baracuta Clothiers in England. Mr. Hepplestone graduated from Manchester Polytecnic in 1972. Mr. Hepplestone is a chartered accountant in the United Kingdom.

Brian E. Shore, Park’s President and CEO, said, “We are all very pleased that Clive Hepplestone has become the new Managing Director and leader of our Nelco/Dielektra European business unit. Clive is taking the reins of our European high-technology electronics materials business at a very exciting and challenging time for us. The current opportunities for Nelco/Dielektra in Europe seem to be almost unlimited at this time. With Clive’s leadership, I am confident that Nelco/Dielektra Europe will prosper and thrive.”

Certain portions of this press release which do not relate to historical financial information may be deemed to constitute forward looking statements that are subject to various factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from Park’s expectations. Such factors include, but are not limited to, general conditions in the electronics industry, Park’s competitive position, the status of Park’s relationships with its customers, economic conditions in international markets, and the various factors set forth under the caption “Factors That May Affect Future Results” after Item 7 of Park’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 28, 1999.

Park Electrochemical Corp. is a leading designer and producer of advanced electronic materials used to fabricate complex multilayer printed circuit boards and interconnection systems. Park’s electronic materials business operates under the “Nelco” name. Park also manufactures specialty adhesive tapes and advanced composite materials for the electron-ics, aerospace and industrial markets.