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Mattson Technology, Inc. and Abakan, Inc. Announce Exclusive Supply Agreement

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  Published in Science and Technology on Wednesday, May 11th 2011 at 13:40 GMT by Market Wire
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FREMONT, Calif. & MIAMI--([ BUSINESS WIRE ])--Abakan Inc. (OTCQB:ABKI) (aAbakana) and Mattson Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:MTSN) today announced that Abakana™s subsidiary MesoCoat, Inc. has agreed to an Exclusive Supply Agreement with Mattson Technology that grants MesoCoat access to Mattsona™s ultra-high-intensity Vortek® arc lamp system. MesoCoat will use the lamps, which generate an extremely high intensity of focused light, in the production of its high-performance nanocomposite cladding solutions for an estimated $3.8 billion¹ worldwide metal cladding market.

"Mattson Technology produces one of the most powerful, high-quality arc lamps in the world. We will use these lamps to fuse our coating and cladding materials to steel pipe and other products, providing an incredibly strong and long-lasting product for industries that use steel in harsh environments"

aMattson Technology produces one of the most powerful, high-quality arc lamps in the world. We will use these lamps to fuse our coating and cladding materials to steel pipe and other products, providing an incredibly strong and long-lasting product for industries that use steel in harsh environments,a said Abakan CEO Robert Miller. aSigning this agreement enables us to rapidly expand our business and bring our groundbreaking new technology to market in the shortest amount of time, with the lowest technical risk.a

The multi-year agreement contemplates that MesoCoat will annually purchase an escalating minimum number of Vortek arc lamps. The aggregate value of the purchases has the potential to exceed tens of millions of dollars over the term of the agreement, and includes a $2 million exclusivity fee. The agreement guarantees MesoCoat supply, support, and delivery schedules for the Vortek arc lamp.

aWe are extremely pleased to be working with MesoCoat on this new, innovative coating solution, which represents a paradigm shift that brings high speed, performance and economy to such large critical markets,a said David Dutton, president and CEO of Mattson Technology. aOur Vortek arc lamp is one of the most powerful light sources in the world that has shown potential to enable greater efficiency in many emerging thermal process applications in the clean energy field. Our partnership with MesoCoat opens up a new opportunity in the energy market, which extends our business beyond our existing semiconductor equipment industry.a

The Mattson Technology Vortek arc lamp integrated with MesoCoata™s award-winning CermaClada" process will allow continuous coating and cladding of layers of corrosion- and wear-resistant materials 20 to 30 centimeters (cm) wide, compared to widths of approximately 0.5 cm for lasers used in competing weld or laser cladding processes. This high-speed cladding process that is up to 100 times faster than current methods enables better metallurgical properties even at lower coating thicknesses. The speed of this technology ensures that the cladding process can now match the line speed of steel mills, dramatically reducing lead times by 75-80%². MesoCoat estimates that this technology will enable the cladding market to double over the next three years to more than $7 billion.

About Abakan, Inc.:

Abakan, Inc. is a publicly traded company that invests in companies that have developed transformational technologies on the cusp of commercial applications. Miami based, Abakan is the largest shareholder in Powdermet and MesoCoat, each of which is an Ohio based nanotechnology material science company involved in technology development that has received numerous awards and grants. Powdermet is focused on metal formulations as well as advanced energy management solutions while MesoCoat is focused on the development of advanced coating solutions. Powdermet has won over 80 government-sponsored Phase 1, 2 and 3 grant programs since 1996 and MesoCoat is the recipient of three prestigious R&D 100 awards, a Technology Innovation Program Award (TIP) for 100 year life coatings by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the NorTech Innovation Award for high performance environmentally friendly coating materials.

About Mattson Technology, Inc.:

Mattson Technology, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets semiconductor wafer processing equipment used in the fabrication of integrated circuits. The company is a leading supplier of plasma and rapid thermal processing equipment to the global semiconductor industry, and operates in three primary product sectors: dry strip, rapid thermal processing (RTP) and etch. Through manufacturing and design innovation, Mattson Technology produces technologically advanced systems that provide productive and cost-effective solutions for customers fabricating current- and next-generation semiconductor devices. The company serves foundries, and memory and logic integrated device manufacturers in the United States, Europe, China, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and other Asian countries.

Abakan Forward-Looking Statements:

A number of statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties including technological obsolescence, market acceptance of future products, competitive market conditions, and the sufficiency of capital resources. The actual results Abakan may achieve could differ materially from any forward-looking statements due to such risks and uncertainties. Abakan encourages the public to read the information provided here in conjunction with its most recent filings on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Abakana™s public filings may be viewed at [ www.sec.gov ].

Mattson Technology aSafe Harbora Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the potential uses of the Vortek arc lamp system, the potential benefits of the supply agreement to both companies, the potential volume and value of sales and availability of product under the agreement, the size and nature of the potential new markets for the Vortek arc lamp system and other general market statements. These forward-looking statements address matters that are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that can cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: unexpected changes in the business relationship between the companies or in the terms and conditions of their supply agreement; changes in MesoCoata™s business and demand for its products; changes in the broader markets for the Companya™s products; the timing of significant customer orders for the Companya™s products; customer acceptance of delivered products and the Companya™s ability to collect amounts due upon shipment and upon acceptance; the Companya™s ability to timely manufacture, deliver and support ordered products; the Companya™s ability to bring new products to market and to gain market share with such products; customer rate of adoption of new technologies; risks inherent in the development of complex technology; the timing and competitiveness of new product releases by the Companya™s competitors; the Companya™s ability to align its cost structure with market conditions; and other risks and uncertainties described in the Companya™s Forms 10-K, 10-Q and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company assumes no obligation to update the information provided in this news release.

¹ MesoCoat Estimate

² MesoCoat Estimate