National Technical Systems Opens New Testing Facility

CALABASAS, Calif., July 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- National Technical Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTSC) (NTS), a leading provider of engineering services, announced today that to keep pace with the increasing growth of its core testing services business in the Silicon Valley region it will transfer all Sunnyvale, CA, operations to a new engineering services and testing laboratory near its existing laboratory in Fremont, CA.

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Chief Executive Officer William McGinnis said this transfer of the Company's operations from Sunnyvale to the Fremont area, once completed, will enable NTS to expand and upgrade its core testing services and offer a more complete and comprehensive range of services to its customers.  

"We are experiencing excellent business growth in the Silicon Valley," McGinnis said.  "We expect this transfer and expansion of our facilities and resources will enable us to expand the range of services we provide our customers and further increase our market share.  We believe we have the largest and most up-to-date EMC (electromagnetic compatibility) testing facility in the Bay Area, and, with the additional laboratory, we believe we will have the largest, most capable and professional environmental test facility in that region."  

This will be a significant step in expanding the Company's services in the Bay Area in addition to being able to provide complementary services to existing customers.

"We assessed the level of demand for our services and ultimately decided that this was the right time to make this strategic move to invest in the future of the Company," McGinnis added.  "As we continue to grow, we need to take this next step for our evolving business. Our customers now have true one-stop shopping for all of their product testing and certification requirements right here in the Bay Area and we will be positioned to take advantage of many synergies to accommodate our growth and development."

The Sunnyvale location will be shutting down in the weeks ahead with key testing facilities and equipment being moved to the Fremont area.  The new laboratory will expand the Climatic, Environmental and Dynamics Product Testing offered by NTS in the region. This new facility is more than 30,000 square feet and houses a wide range of state-of-the-art testing equipment and services such as shock and vibration testing, thermal stress and extreme environment simulation that are expected to be online in the third quarter of this year.  Product Safety services are available at both Silicon Valley locations.

The existing laboratory, a 27,000 square foot testing facility, will be the Silicon Valley's premier location for Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Wireless testing and it is undergoing a major expansion effort in order to configure it for this strategic move. In addition to three state-of-the-art anechoic testing chambers that are currently being used for Wireless testing and Radiated Emissions testing, a new 5-meter semi-anechoic chamber has been custom built by ETS-Lindgren, a leading global provider of components and systems that measure, shield and control electromagnetic energy.  The new chamber will accommodate additional testing requirements. A new 3-meter chamber has recently been installed primarily for Radiated Immunity testing and the Radiated Immunity chamber from Sunnyvale will be installed by the end of July. In addition to the chambers, four spacious EMC labs are available for a wide variety of immunity tests.

About National Technical Systems

National Technical Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of engineering services to the aerospace, defense, telecommunications, automotive and high technology markets. Through a world-wide network of resources, NTS provides full product life-cycle support, offering world class design engineering, compliance, testing, certification, quality registration and program management. Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, Elliott Laboratories has over 30 years of experience servicing the needs of electronic product manufacturers in various industries. NTS acquired Elliott Laboratories in June 2008. For additional information about NTS, visit the Company's website at www.ntscorp.com or call 800-270-2516.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including risks associated with uncertainties pertaining to customer orders, demand for services and products, development of markets for the companies' services and products and other risks identified in the companies' SEC filings.  Actual results, events and performance may differ materially, including the ability of the new facility to generate profits.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.  The companies undertake no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding National Technical Systems' business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.

SOURCE National Technical Systems, Inc.