CoreTek Reiterates Commitment to be a Leader in the Optical Networking Industry.

Business/Technology Editors

WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 29, 2000

CoreTek Inc., an innovative start-up providing photonic solutions for optical networks demonstrated its commitment to take a leadership position in the industry with today's announcement of its capacity expansion plans.

The expansion will almost double the size of the current facility from 30,000 sq.ft. to 56,000 sq.ft. and is intended to address the expected ramp-up of tunable laser packaging as well as sub-systems manufacturing for complete tunable solutions. Some of the CoreTek operations have already moved into the new expansion, and the full manufacturing operations are expected to be operational within three months. When asked about the product portfolio specifics, the company indicated that an announcement would be forthcoming in advance of the Optical Fiber Communications conference (OFC2000).

CoreTek's VP of Manufacuting, Scott Burroughs, who has been responsible for overseeing the manufacturing ramp-up and capacity expansion, said "these are very exciting times for CoreTek." He continued, "we feel strongly about our ability to be successful in the marketplace and our commitment to take a leadership position in the industry is reflected in this infra-structure investment".

Dr. Parviz Tayebati, Founder and CEO of CoreTek emphasized the scope of the investment by saying, "to the best of my knowledge we have more floor space committed to delivering tunable photonic solutions for telecommunication than anyone else in the world, including the large optical networking companies".

Dr. Tayebati, further said, "we are positioning CoreTek as the solution to the capacity constraints that have plagued the industry during a period of tremendous growth in demand for opto-electronic components." "We believe that the economies of scale possible with a single part production line, investment in automation, and early scaling of manufacturing capacity will drastically shorten lead times, improve customer service, and provide a more cost effective solution for our customer set."

In summarizing the announcement, Tom Dudley, VP of Marketing, indicated, "...this expansion is indicative of the positive reaction that we are receiving in the marketplace." He continued, "we are seeing phenomenal demand projections and want to be prepared to meet customer's expectations".

CoreTek is located in Wilmington, MA, in the heart of the Photon Valley and has developed and is commercializing break-through tunable photonic solutions for Long Haul and Metropolitan dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) systems. Other applications include those for evolving elements of an All-Optical Network such as Optical Cross Connects (OXC), Optical Add/Drop Multiplexers (OADM) and Wavelength Routers. CoreTek recently announced its $20.5 million second round of financing led by Oak Investment Partners and which also included Adams Capital Management, Hillman Capital, JK&B Capital, and Broadview.

For more information, please visit the corporate website at www.coretekinc.com or contact Tom Dudley, VP, Marketing at 978-570-1200.