MINNEAPOLIS, April 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Northern Technologies International Corporation (Nasdaq:NTIC) today announced that two of its Zerust® Oil & Gas products, Zerust Flange Savers® and the Zerust® ReCAST-R system, recently received Materials Performance magazine's Readers' Choice Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards. Materials Performance is published by NACE International, the world's largest organization dedicated to the study, prevention and mitigation of corrosion.

Companies, individuals and governments were invited to submit nominations for Materials Performance magazine's Readers' Choice Corrosion Innovation of the Year Awards. In 2012, this resulted in a total of 64 nominations from 17 countries for consideration for the top ten innovations. All nominated innovations were posted online for voting which resulted in more than 7,000 votes cast for innovations representing groundbreaking advances in coatings and linings, cathodic protection, materials and design, instrumentation, testing, integrity assessment, chemical treatments, and other corrosion prevention and mitigation technologies.

"Our goal with this awards program is to provide a forum where anyone developing new and unique corrosion control technology can be showcased and recognized," said NACE International Executive Director, Bob Chalker. "We received an impressive array of entries demonstrating important advances in the industry."

"We are exceptionally pleased that both our Zerust Flange Savers® and Zerust® ReCAST-R system received an award and we thank the corrosion professionals that read Materials Performance magazine and NACE International for this recognition," said G. Patrick Lynch, President and Chief Executive Officer of NTIC. "Corrosion is a significant threat to keeping essential oil and gas industry installations operating properly and safely. Zerust® products have proven their ability, time and again, to provide the corrosion prevention necessary to protect infrastructure and thereby protect the oil workers from harm and the environment from damage," Mr. Lynch continued. "We're proud to offer the oil and gas industry innovative corrosion solutions."

Zerust Flange Savers® and Zerust® ReCAST-R were the only two products to receive awards in the chemical treatment category. Zerust Flange Savers® are specialty covers made from a polyolefin-based film impregnated with proprietary volatile corrosion inhibitors (VCIs). When the flange assembly is enclosed within a Flange Saver, the Zerust VCIs are released into the enclosed cover space. The VCIs migrate into all the recessed areas and are adsorbed onto the metal surfaces. The adsorbed VCIs form a thin, protective film at the metal surface to provide corrosion protection. Zerust Flange Savers® have proven to be highly effective at Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), where NTIC's majority-owned subsidiary in Brazil has already sold a total of $4.2 (BRL$ 7.52 million) of these products since their initial technical approval in August 2010.

The Zerust® ReCAST-R system dispenses complex VCIs into tank vapor spaces through dispensers mounted on the tank roof. The inhibitors migrate throughout the tank vapor space and adsorb onto all exposed metal surfaces, creating a protective film on the metal surface that retards corrosion. The Zerust® ReCAST-R system has been proven to increase the predicted tank roof service life from five to six years to 30 to 40 years. This simple, self-regulating system has no moving parts and no electrical/electronic components. Inhibitor replacement can be accomplished while the tank is in service. NTIC has sold and installed this solution at Petrobras as well.

Both technologies are patent pending.

About Northern Technologies International Corporation

Northern Technologies International Corporation develops and markets proprietary environmentally beneficial products and services in over 55 countries either directly or via a network of joint ventures, independent distributors and agents. NTIC's primary business is corrosion prevention marketed primarily under the ZERUST® brand. NTIC has been selling its proprietary ZERUST® rust and corrosion inhibiting products and services to the automotive, electronics, electrical, mechanical, military and retail consumer markets, for over 35 years. NTIC also offers worldwide on-site technical consulting for rust and corrosion prevention 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. In addition, NTIC markets proprietary bio-plastic technologies under the Natur-Tec® brand.

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CONTACT: Investor and Media Contacts:

         Matthew Wolsfeld, CFO

         NTIC

         (763) 225-6600

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