Max Benton Retires from ABLE Engineering; Galileo and Space Station Among Accomplishments.

Business Editors

GOLETA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 9, 2000

AEC-Able Engineering Company Inc. (ABLE) announced the retirement of Max D. Benton P.E. Benton co-founded ABLE in 1975 with Robert F. Crawford and Dave Coleman, and served as president for the last 22 years. He will continue to serve the company in an advisory manner.

ABLE was acquired by Pressure Systems Inc. (PSI) in 1999. Alex Roberts, PSI's CEO, stated: "During his years as president, Max provided the leadership required to take ABLE from limited beginnings to its present role as an innovation leader in the space industry. The company has expanded and prospered through his efforts, and we are grateful for his contributions." Roberts will serve as acting general manager of ABLE until a permanent replacement is named.

Benton was involved in the space industry for 35 years, dedicated to creating specialized lightweight and deployable structures for spacecraft. For Benton and ABLE, career highlights include the magnetometer boom for the Galileo Interplanetary Probe and, most recently, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission mast -- the longest structure to deploy in space. Benton and partner William Robbins hold the patents for the FASTmast technology that will be used on the eight International Space Station solar array masts.

When asked about the founding of ABLE, Benton said, "We wanted to create a place where people want to come to work." Employees agree that the relaxed, "think tank" atmosphere is a pleasure to work in -- a perfect environment for creating the innovative designs that have made ABLE famous. Benton encouraged staff members to "always try to do the right thing," a sentiment that paid off in a reputation-building 100% on-orbit success rate for the company's products.

Benton intends to spend his retirement working on his Northern California Bed and Breakfast Inn and plans to travel internationally. "It has been my greatest pleasure working with the employees of ABLE," Benton said, "but with the time left in my active life, I wish to concentrate on other things. I have no doubt that ABLE will continue to flourish under PSI's leadership."

PSI consists of four subsidiaries dedicated to providing components and subsystems for the space industry: PSI Operations, the world's largest independent manufacturer of pressurant and propellant tanks; PCI, which produces advanced structural composite assemblies; Dynatherm, a cost-effective thermal management subsystems supplier; and AEC-Able Engineering, which constructs innovative deployable structures and solar arrays.

The principal owner of PSI, Windward Capital Partners, is a privately owned, New York-based investment firm whose limited partners include Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. and Credit Suisse First Boston.