KRAS receives $500,000 grant for $2 million international non-proliferation project in Belarus.

FAIRLESS HILLS, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 7, 1995--His Excellency Syarghei M. Martynau, Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus, was among the dignitaries who witnessed the presentation of a $500,000 grant from United States Industry Coalition to KRAS Corp. of Fairless Hills.

The $2 million

project is organized by KRAS and includes Concern PLANAR of Minsk, Belarus, Oak Ridge National Laboratory of Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Science Institute KBTEM-SO of Minsk, Belarus, as part of the New Independent States-International Proliferation Prevention Program (NIS-IPPP) of the U.S. Department of Energy.

The grant will provide seed money to convert Belarusian productive technology formerly used in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction to peaceful commercial products that can be commercially competitive on the world market. Belarus, formerly called Bylerussia, was a major electronics manufacturing center for the former Soviet Union.

Scientists and engineers from Oak Ridge National Laboratory and KBTEM-SO will work with engineers and marketing personnel from industrial partners KRAS and PLANAR to modify existing PLANAR technology and deliver production-ready prototypes for equipment used in the production of commercial electronic components.

The equipment developed will be manufactured in Belarus and distributed and supported on the world market by KRAS Worldwide Inc.

KRAS Corp., founded in Pennsylvania in 1960, provides high quality capital equipment, systems, and support for leading semiconductor and electronic manufacturers around the world.

As it grew with the semiconductor industry, KRAS evolved into a group of companies in the United States, Hong Kong, the People's Republic of China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, India, Singapore, Germany, Belarus, and the United Kingdom united under a single ownership and with a single focus -- to provide solutions for their customers' problems.

The KRAS currently manages or participates in on-going Defense Conversion Programs in Belarus and Kazakhstan. For its work during 1994 in Defense Conversion with INTEGRAL in the Republic of Belarus, the Defense Nuclear Agency nominated KRAS for its "Prime Contractor of the Year Award."

CONTACT: KRAS Corp., Fairless Hills

Larry Plummer, 215/736-0981

by

Leon Oboler Communications, Blue Bell

Leon Oboler, 610/277-3535