PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Karwyn Bursma
Manager, Marketing
(616) 949.9090 x109
kbursma@psix.com

Karlis Vizulis of Performance Systematix Inc. Named Finalist For
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2004 Award

Grand Rapids, Mich. – June 1, 2004 – Karlis Vizulis, President of Performance Systematix Inc. was named a finalist by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 Awards in West Michigan. PSI was selected from nominations in West Michigan by a panel of judges comprised of local community and business leaders. Finalists will be selected in award categories announced at an awards banquet on June 24th at the Amway Grand Plaza in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Performance Systematix Inc. (PSI) specializes in the integration of hydrophobic, microporous membranes into plastic components used in biotechnology and laboratory analysis products, medical filters, and packaging applications.

PSI was founded in 1984 when Vizulis and Charles von Reis invented faster, more consistent and cost-effective ways to provide the medical and packaging industries with venting and filtering products. The company’s first customers had unique problems that other manufacturers thought were too difficult or unprofitable to solve. PSI tackled and overcame these challenges, and as a result, built a reputation as a problem solver and expert manufacturer with diverse capabilities.

Today PSI provides custom and standard solutions to a wide variety of markets around the world, including agro-chemical, bio-tech, chemical, forensic sciences, healthcare, industrial manufacturing, laboratory and analysis, medical products, packaging, petrochemical and pharmaceutical.

Karlis Vizulis was born in Darlington, England after his parents fled from Latvia at the end of WWII. His family immigrated to the United States in 1958 and set up residence in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Vizulis moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan in 1974 to attend the University of Michigan and graduated in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering. From there, he was employed by Gelman Sciences as an Engineer, and later became a Salesperson for the company. He left Gelman Sciences in 1984 to start Performance Systematix Inc.

“I feel very honored to be among the finalists for this distinguished award,” said Vizulis. “It’s particularly special as this year marks the 20th Anniversary of PSI. It’s a major milestone for us, and I couldn’t be more proud of how far we’ve come. We have a great team of people working for us and have much to celebrate. The award nomination is a wonderful recognition of our company’s collective effort and success.”

Vizulis is a member of the Society for Applied Spectroscopy, and is the
Assistant Chairman on the Board of Directors for the Long Lake Latvian
Summer School.

The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program is nationally sponsored by Microsoft and by the Kauffman Foundation. West Michigan program sponsors are Fifth Third Bank, Marsh USA Inc., Miller, Johnson, Snell & Cummiskey, P.L.C., Seidman School of Business, Grand Rapids Business Journal, WGVU and Pinkerton Consulting & Investigations.

West Michigan winners will be eligible for consideration for the Entrepreneur Of The Year 2004 national program. Winners in several national categories, as well as the overall national Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year, will be announced at the annual awards gala in Palm Springs, Calif., in November 2004.

About The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® Awards Program
The Entrepreneur Of The Year awards program was created and is produced by professional services firm Ernst & Young LLP. As the first award of its kind, Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year recognizes outstanding entrepreneurs who are building and leading dynamic and growing businesses. The program honors entrepreneurs through regional, national and global award programs in over 100 cities and 35 countries.

About Ernst & Young
Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to restoring the public’s trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 103,000 people in more than 140 countries around the globe pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism to provide clients with solutions based on financial, transactional, and risk-management knowledge in Ernst & Young's core services of audit, tax, and transaction services. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to all the members of the global Ernst & Young organization.

© 2004 Performance Systematix Inc.

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