LAKE SUCCESS, New York, July 23, 2001.....Park Electrochemical Corp. (NYSE - PKE)announced the election of Mary Wathen as the President of Nelco Products, Inc., Park's high technology volume printed circuit material business unit located in Fullerton, California ("Nelco California"). Ms. Wathen is succeeding Ronald Hart who is retiring as President of Nelco California after serving in that position since April, 1987.

Ms. Wathen has extensive experience of more than twenty-five years in the printed circuit board and printed circuit materials industries. Most recently, Ms. Wathen was President of Nelco Technology, Inc. ("NTI"), Park's mass lamination business unit located in Tempe, Arizona which was sold to DDi Corp. in April, 2001. Before joining NTI, Ms. Wathen was Director of Sales and Marketing of the QLP Laminates division of AMP Incorporated from 1993 to 1995 and President of QLP Laminates from 1995 to June, 1999, when Nelco California acquired the assets of QLP Laminates. QLP was also engaged in the mass lamination business. Prior to her positions at QLP, Mary Wathen was the National Sales Manager for Polyclad Laminates for six years. Ms. Wathen also previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Koboway Inc., a manufacturer of printed circuit boards.

Brian Shore, Park's President and CEO, said, "First of all, I would like to express, on behalf of the whole company and its Board of Directors, my deep gratitude to Ron Hart for all the years of dedicated service he performed for the company as the leader of Nelco California. We certainly will miss Ron very much, and we all wish Ron the very, very best of luck in his retirement. Ron did a wonderful job of leading Nelco California through very interesting times to say the least. During Ron's fourteen years of leadership, Nelco California's revenues tripled! In addition to this impressive revenue growth record, Ron leaves a company of real quality and substance to his successor."

Brian Shore continued, "I am so very pleased that Mary Wathen has agreed to serve as the President and leader of our very important Nelco California business unit. Remember that Nelco California is undergoing a major expansion and upgrade in technology which will be complete by the end of this year. Mary has very impressively proven and demonstrated her leadership and management capabilities over the last sixteen months through her leadership of our NTI business. As you know very well, Mary and her team at NTI did a simply wonderful job in turning around and restoring some basic dignity to the severely damaged NTI business which had been dealt a nearly fatal blow as the result of Delco's termination of its supply agreement with NTI. I am thrilled that a demonstrated and proven company leader like Mary has taken over the reins of our very critical Nelco California business unit."

Park Electrochemical Corp. is a leading global designer and producer of electronic materials used to fabricate complex multilayer printed circuit boards and interconnection systems. Park specializes in advanced materials for high layer count circuit boards and high speed digital broadband telecommunications, internet and networking applications. Park's electronic materials business operates through fully integrated business units in Asia, Europe and North America. The Company's manufacturing facilities are located in Singapore, China (operations expected to commence in the Company's third quarter), Germany, France, England, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Arizona and California. Park's electronic materials business operates under the "Nelco" name.

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