"This is a great development for Mitsubishi Corporation and Vitex," said Michael Sullivan, Vitex President and CEO. "We're delighted to have a company of Mitsubishi Corporation's stature as our strategic partner in serving the exciting and promising display market. Vitex will be a global company serving the domestic, European, and Asian markets. This relationship with Mitsubishi Corporation will be our window to the Japanese market."

"After an in-depth review, including patent applications, we are very encouraged by the strong Vitex patent and technology portfolio," said Mikio Sasaki, President & CEO of Mitsubishi Corporation. "Vitex has strong potential to become the market leader in barrier coatings for the emerging Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display market and we are pleased to become their strategic partner."

"We're extremely encouraged by Mitsubishi Corporation's significant equity investment," said Douglas E. Olesen, Battelle President and CEO. "It validates Vitex's progress as a strong technology player. Mitsubishi Corporation and Battelle have collaborated well in the past - including the development of a very successful global optical networking company."

The flat panel display industry is seeking new materials to replace glass in displays. Most companies see flexible plastic as a solution, but it must be coated with a transparent barrier material that will block moisture and oxygen as effectively as glass, yet remain light and flexible. Vitex's Flexible Glasstm engineered substrates, a family of transparent, ultra-barrier plastic films, is expected to satisfy these requirements. They are being designed to be used in displays for mobile devices like cell phones, PDAs, video games, laptop computers and more.

The Mitsubishi Corporation investment provides Vitex with the capital to continue its product and process development and pursue opportunities for its breakthrough technology. In addition, Vitex gains access to Mitsubishi Corporation's extensive commercial network. Vitex Systems, headquartered in San Jose, California, is commercializing transparent, ultra-barrier films for use in flat panel displays. The company was incubated at Battelle and spun off as an independent company in November 1999.

Mitsubishi Corporation is one of the world's most diverse enterprises, being recognized as a leader in international business. Based in Tokyo, the company's more than 7,000 professionals serve clients through a global network of 44 offices in Japan and 117 offices and subsidiaries overseas. This extensive network and Mitsubishi Corporation's wide-ranging activities give it a decisive edge in gathering the timely, accurate market information vital to success. For more information see www.mitsubishi.co.jp.

Battelle is a world leader in technology development and commercialization. With a staff of 7,500 at more than 70 locations, Battelle conducts thousands of technology projects for companies and government agencies. Annual revenues are nearly $1 billion. Battelle also manages or co-manages four major federal laboratories. For more information see www.battelle.org.

For more information on Vitex Systems, contact John McMahon, Vitex Vice President of Sales and Marketing at (408) 519-4400 or at jmcmahon@vitexsys.com or visit www.vitexsys.com.