LEE COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION Southern Base of the Research Triangle Region NEWS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, March 8, 2004 Ê MILITARY ARMOR MANUFACTURER MOVES TO SANFORD AND BEGINS EXPANSION SANFORD -- Patriot Performance Materials doesn't waste time. Just three months after looking around Sanford for space to relocate its armor manufacturing facility, the company has already moved and launched an ambitious expansion project that could add scores of employees and send gross sales soaring. "We've been in business since '02, but we did small things here and there," said Terry Earle, director of operations for the company producing military armor and gear. "Our goal last year was $1 to 2 million dollars, but we ended up somewhere in the $30 million range. We obviously far exceeded what our goals were. "I've personally put our goal in the $50 million range for this year, based on what we did last year and the increased demand. If we don't hit it, we'll be pretty close." With a changing world and an exploding demand for its body armor, vehicle armor and tactical gear, Patriot outgrew its 7,000 square feet in nearby Lillington. Company leaders were already planning to add 17,000 square feet, in fact, when even their expansion project became too small. The solution: Purchase JSJ Plastics, a molding company closed earlier this year by its corporate headquarters in Michigan. The deal not only included two large plants along Industrial Drive, but also equipment once used to produce plastics for electrical, home health and aerospace companies. It's all part of Patriot's master plan. Already, the company has relocated its 25 original employees and is now hiring 30 to 40 more. When that's done, probably some time late this month, the next phase of expansion will begin. Earle says he hopes to have about 100 employees on board by the middle of summer -- assuming his new facility can be adapted and set up quickly. At the same time, the company is quadrupling its sales force just to keep up with current demand from Fort Bragg, Pope Air Force Base and other military bases around the world. While Patriot will continue to focus on providing armor and gear to special forces and other military units, company leaders are looking for new business opportunities. And reprising the plastics operation is one option already being considered. "Ultimately, our goal was to find space and look at future endeavors," Earle said. "When we found out about JSJ personnel being put out of business, we thought there might be some potential for plastics molding. Our goal ultimately is to crank it back up and put the people back to work." Things are busy at Patriot's twin plants -- with employees being hired, expansion plans being debated and new sewing machines being installed to handle cutting and sewing for gear to carry flashlights, radios, weapons and other tools of the military trade. Company leaders are happy with the strong local economic climate and the accessibility they now have to customers, Earle said. And, most of all, they're looking forward to what Patriot Performance Materials will become a few years down the road. "We are a very unorthodox business," Earle explained. "We don't follow the standard M.B.A. business model, by any stretch of the imagination. But, we've far exceeded our goals already and all of what most of the larger M.B.A.-type companies had predicted." The Lee County Economic Development Corp. is a nonprofit organization established to attract industry, enhance job opportunities and promote sound planning across Lee County. Funding is provided by the county, as well as the City of Sanford and Town of Broadway, the county's two municipalities. --30-- Media Contacts: Bob Heuts, Director Jane Haber, Administrative Assistant 919-774-8439 (phone) 919-775-5410 (fax) info@lcedc.com (e-mail) Media Web: http://www.lcedc.com/media/ This release: http://www.lcedc.com/media/releases/nr030804.txt Patriot Performance Materials: http://www.patriotmaterials.com