Press Releases Conforma Clad Announces Extruder Barrel Inspection and Refurbishment Program Chicago, Illinois — (June 23, 2003) Conforma Clad, a leading provider of severe wear solutions for metal components, announces the introduction of its full service extruder barrel inspection and refurbishing program. The inspection and refurbishing program, which has been conducted on a pilot basis for the last nine months, is now being offered nationwide. Dan Ludwig, Conforma Clad’s Director of Sales commented, “We have always offered re-cladding and refurbishing of barrels and liners that contain our tungsten carbide wear protection. However, we received strong input from our customers that they wanted a one-stop shop for refurbishing any make and model of co-rotating, segmented twin-screw extruder barrels. Over the last nine months we have purposely limited the program to a select few and now we are ready to launch the program full-scale.” Conforma Clad’s full-service inspection and refurbishment service is designed to extend the life of worn extruder barrels. Inspection services are performed at no charge, and include cleaning and identifying the barrel, dimensional measurement and inspection, and pressure and flow testing. Upon completion of the inspection, recommendations are made for any repairs required to restore the barrel(s) to a like-new condition. A wide range of refurbishment options are available directly from Conforma Clad. General refurbishment and weld repair is available for barrels exhibiting minor wear in the bores. A direct clad refurbishment is offered for barrels already protected with Conforma Clad’s tungsten carbide protection in the bores and <0.040” of radial wear. For a barrel with Conforma Clad’s wear protection in the bores and >0.040” of radial wear, or for a barrel with a material other than Conforma Clad’s tungsten carbide in the bores, a first-time sleeve (or liner) is available. Re-sleeving is also available for barrels that are currently sleeved. Unlike competitive liners, Conforma Clad liners consist of tungsten carbide material that is metallurgically bonded to a 4140 steel substrate. The substrate combined with Conforma Clad’s tungsten carbide protection provides added ductility, virtually eliminating failures commonly associated with rigid liners, such as weld separation or “collapse” of sleeves. Over fourteen years ago, Conforma Clad and Krupp Werner & Pfleiderer (now Coperion), a leading manufacturer of twin screw extruders and processing systems, co-developed a solution for severe wear protection of extruder barrels. Previously only available from Coperion as WPR-29, this severe wear protection provides the highest possible resistance to abrasion and corrosion. Conforma Clad manufactures segmented extruder barrels, applying the same premium protection available from Coperion as WPR-29. Proprietary Conforma Clad tungsten carbide formulas can also be applied to extruder barrels, single-screw screw segments, dies, mixing hardware, material-handling equipment, and other components exposed to abrasive materials. Conforma Clad Inc. is a leading provider of severe wear solutions for applications involving extreme abrasion, corrosion and erosion, or any combination thereof. Conforma Clad’s proprietary process uses infiltration brazing to bond tungsten carbide to the base material of a component, producing a hard, uniform protective cladding that is both extremely wear resistant and very durable. For the plastic and food industries, Conforma Clad provides wear resistant extruder barrels, liners, screws, and dies. It is the major supplier of radial bearings used in directional drilling for oil and gas. Among the products provided for coal-fired power plants are fan blades and liners and components for burners, pulverizers, and ash conveyance. Conforma Clad, which has been in operation since 1968, is headquartered in New Albany, Indiana.