Duraswitch's CEO Named Arizona Entrepreneur of the Year Award Finalist.

Business Editors

PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 19, 2001

Duraswitch Industries Inc.'s (Nasdaq: DSWT) Terren (Terry) Dunlap, co-founder, CEO and chairman, was selected as a finalist in Ernst & Young's Arizona Entrepreneur of the Year awards.

"Being recognized as a finalist is truly an honor, but I couldn't have achieved this without the support of others. I've surrounded myself with a talented team of people who are experts in their fields. We have combined our strengths and knowledge to make Duraswitch a successful company," said Dunlap.

Since its inception, Duraswitch has been recognized for its innovative technologies, and this endorsement of its management attests to its position as a capable leader in the switch market.

Dunlap's visionary leadership, combined with an ingenious switch technology and innovative business model, has catapulted Duraswitch onto the center stage of its industry.

In four short years Dunlap and his experienced team have implemented a tight patent protection strategy, taken the company from private financing to a public company on the Nasdaq, and built a positive presence in a market dominated by large, well-established companies.

Dunlap believes a strong management team is key to continued strength and success. He has staffed the company with the best and brightest people who have "been there and done that."

Key members of the Duraswitch team include:

Bob Brilon, president and CFO, works with Dunlap and management to create a balance between continued innovation and strategic alliances in order to meet the company's mission statement of "enhancing shareholder value."

[pilcrow (paragraph sign)] Tony Van Zeeland, COO, executive vice president engineering, is the co-founder and inventor of the Duraswitch technologies. He continues to make advancements and invent technologies that satisfy the needs of Duraswitch's licensees, and their customers' applications and product requirements.

Together with Van Zeeland, Phil Sawyer, vice president, engineering, Kenneth Copic, vice president, general manager, David VanZoest, director, research & development, make up the management team responsible for developing and testing the technologies being licensed for manufacture and sale by Duraswitch licensees. This team trains licensed manufacturers and provides the company's licensees with product design support.

Tim Kuhn, vice president, business development, heads the team responsible for signing domestic and international licensees, training the licensees' sales and marketing staff, teaching the technology advantages to OEMs, generating leads for licensees through awareness campaigns, and educating product designers about Duraswitch technology.

Frank Freeman, director, intellectual property, is responsible for protecting the company's technological developments. He does this by applying for and receiving patents, developing copyrighted materials and protecting the company's trade secrets.

Heather Beshears, director, corporate communications, works closely with the company's management to ensure timely, accurate and comprehensive information is communicated to the investment community, media and employees. She serves as a key spokesperson to the investment community for the company.

Ernst & Young recognizes local entrepreneurs who have demonstrated a winning edge in the past year. Founded and produced by Ernst & Young, the program is nationally sponsored by USA Today, CNN, the Nasdaq Stock Market and the Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership at the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation.

Regionally, Marsh and Citigroup Private Bank sponsor the program, as well as local sponsors Bowne, Faegre & Benson, Merrill Lynch, Scherzer & Co., and U.S. Bank.

About Duraswitch

Duraswitch's patented new technologies are used to operate or control products in a wide variety of commercial, industrial and consumer applications.

These next-generation electronic switch designs address trends in the market today, providing: high durability and reliability, sealability against harsh environments, illumination capabilities; and ergonomic, user-friendly interfaces in flat-panel and slim-profile designs that allow multiple switch and switch type integration.

Duraswitch is building domestic and foreign patent protection for its technology and is entering into license agreements with switch manufacturers and OEMs worldwide to quickly achieve widespread distribution of its technology.

Licensing royalties are based on licensed manufacturers' use of Duraswitch's intellectual property for electronic switch applications that benefit from the advantages of our patented technology.

Duraswitch Industries Inc. engineers, markets and licenses electronic switches under its patented switch technology (U.S. Patent Nos. 5,523,730 / 5,666,096 / 5,867,082 / 5,990,772 / 6,023,213 / 6,069,545 / 6,069,552 / 6,130,593 / 6,137,387). For more information about Duraswitch, visit the web site at www.duraswitch.com or call 480/586-3300.

The statements and implications in this release regarding company's future success, adoption of its technologies, market position, the development of new products, continued patent protection, and success in licensing are forward-looking statements, which are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially.

Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, unanticipated problems relating to the development, manufacture and introduction of new products, costs of raw materials, marketing and sales of Duraswitch products, market acceptance of new products, ability to license products to third parties, competitive and economic conditions encountered by Duraswitch and its existing and potential customers and licensees.

The forward-looking statements should be considered in light of these risks and uncertainties. A more complete description of the risks and uncertainties that face Duraswitch is described from time to time in our documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.