MINNEAPOLIS, Apr 2, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Northern Technologies International Corporation (Nasdaq:NTIC) today announced the signing of a contract between NTIC's joint venture operating in Vietnam and Vung Tau Petro JS to provide cathodic corrosion protection services for a jetty in Vung Tau, Vietnam. The contract, valued at about US$187,000, is for Phase I of the jetty construction project.

Vung Tau Petro JS is building infrastructure to support Petro Vietnam as they dramatically expand their operations from one to three refineries in Vietnam. The initial phase of this project will use industry standard cathodic protection systems and techniques while NTIC's patented Advanced Cathodic Protection(tm) solutions will be reserved for the more complex future phases.

"Cathodic Protection (CP) is an essential corrosion protection service used by all Oil and Gas companies to protect critical infrastructure such as pipelines and offshore platforms. NTIC is committed to expanding the scope of the solutions we offer in this area through a combination of expertise in industry standard CP as well as our portfolio of patented new technologies that allow us to offer the 'Advanced Cathodic Protection(tm)' that provides more efficient corrosion protection in complex applications. Our distributed business model also helps us be very cost competitive as we leverage our local presence in over 50 countries," said Patrick Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer of NTIC. "CP comes in addition to NTIC's other proven solutions, such as those for protecting Above ground Storage Tanks (ASTs) currently used by Petrobras in Brazil."

"SE Asia is seeing growth in the oil and gas infrastructure essential to fueling the growth in the region. We are working with the key companies in order to bring them the best solutions to address their long term corrosion problems," said Bob Walker, a NACE Level-4 CP specialist and manager of NTIC's CP unit. "For the Vung Tau project we will be providing the engineering service, material supply, installation oversight, and commissioning services. We are already in discussions for Phase II of the jetty and several other CP projects in Vietnam. We have also been selling our services and solutions in Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia and are looking to expand to Indonesia and even in the Middle East."

Zerust(r) Oil & Gas corrosion solutions are based on NTIC patented and/or proprietary technologies and are intended to significantly extend the service life of oil and gas industry infrastructure beyond the capabilities of conventional alternatives. NTIC has a core R&D team dedicated to the oil and gas sector based in Beachwood, Ohio and is currently conducting joint R&D and trials with several major oil companies around the world. Together with its extensive joint venture network, NTIC has trained personnel in most geographic regions to support global oil & gas industry clients.

More information on NTIC's ZERUST(r) corrosion protection technologies targeted at the oil & gas industry is available at www.zerust-oilgas.com.

About Northern Technologies International Corporation

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets proprietary environmentally beneficial products and technical services either directly or via a network of joint ventures and independent distributors in over 50 countries. NTIC's primary business is corrosion prevention. NTIC has been selling its proprietary ZERUST(r) and EXCOR(r) rust and corrosion inhibiting products and services to the automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military and retail consumer markets, for over 25 years. NTIC also offers worldwide on-site technical consulting for rust and corrosion issues. NTIC's technical service consultants work directly with the end users of NTIC's products to analyze their specific needs and develop systems to meet their technical requirements. NTIC also has launched a new product line of compounds and finished products based on a portfolio of proprietary bio-plastic technologies under the Natur- Tec(tm) brand and is in the advanced stages of commercially launching plastic waste to fuel conversion technology, and is in various stages of development with respect to several other emerging businesses. For more information, visit www.ntic.com.

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Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this press release that are not historical information are forward-looking statements as defined within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements can be identified by words such as "could," "may," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "will," "would," or words of similar meaning and any other statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of NTIC's management and are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or implied. Such potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, in no particular order: NTIC's dependence on the success of its joint ventures and technical fees and dividend distributions that NTIC receives from them; NTIC's relationships with its joint ventures and its ability to maintain those relationships; risks associated with NTIC's international operations; exposure to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates; the current financial crises affecting the U.S. and worldwide banking system and financial markets; contraction of the U.S. and worldwide economies, including in particular the U.S. automotive industry; the level of growth in NTIC's markets; NTIC's investments in research and development efforts; acceptance of existing and new products; increased competition; the success of NTIC's emerging new businesses; the costs and effects of complying with changes in tax, fiscal, government and other regulatory policies, including rules relating to environmental, health and safety matters, NTIC's reliance on its intellectual property rights and the absence of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others and current and potential litigation. More detailed information on these and additional factors which could affect NTIC's operating and financial results is described in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent annual report on Form 10-K. NTIC urges all interested parties to read this report and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q to gain a better understanding of the many business and other risks that the company faces. Additionally, NTIC undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements, which may be made to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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SOURCE: Northern Technologies International Corporation

Northern Technologies International Corporation
          Matthew Wolsfeld
          +1 (763) 225-6600
          mwolsfeld@ntic.com

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