Ceradyne, Inc. Appoints Michael Kraft Vice President Sales, Marketing, Business Development; To Drive Diversification, Growth; Focus on Non-Defense -- Industrial Business.

COSTA MESA, Calif. -- Ceradyne, Inc. (Company) (Nasdaq:CRDN) announced that it has appointed Michael Kraft to the newly created position of vice president sales, marketing and business development, which encompasses sales and marketing for all Ceradyne profit centers, including responsibility for the integration of Ceradyne's 2004 acquisition of ESK Ceramics of Kempten, Germany.

During the last 20 years, Kraft has held management and marketing related positions, including eight years with the General Electric Company. He holds degrees with honors from Michigan State University in electrical engineering and an MBA degree from Pennsylvania State University. Kraft recently joined Ceradyne.

Joel Moskowitz, Ceradyne chief executive officer, commented: "This is the first time Ceradyne has elevated its marketing focus to that of a corporate officer, and I am personally very excited about having someone with Michael's background heading this effort. With the acquisition of ESK Ceramics in Kempten, Germany, last year, our Company continues to pursue its strategy of diversification in products and markets. We are particularly oriented towards an effective method of marketing the products from our three USA profit centers, as well as our recently acquired European entity. Kraft will be determining the organizational structure, timetable and strategy for achieving our non-defense goals. In this new position, Kraft will be part of Ceradyne's Executive Management Committee."

Ceradyne develops, manufactures and markets advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense, industrial, automotive/diesel and commercial applications. Additional information about the Company can be found at www.ceradyne.com.

Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future performance of Ceradyne that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "plans," "expects," "intends," "future" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2003, and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004, as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.