MINNEAPOLIS, Oct 31, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Northern Technologies International Corporation (Nasdaq:NTIC) announced today the receipt of a contract from the Thai municipality of Hua Hin for the purchase and installation of a Polymer Energy plant to convert waste plastic into a mixture of gasoline, diesel and mid-distillates. This is the third such plant that NTIC will have installed in Asia, and is expected to be fully operational by April 2009. Two other Polymer Energy plants are currently being commissioned in Chennai, India and Rayong, Thailand and are scheduled for completion by January 2009.

"Given the increasing global demand for environmentally beneficial waste management practices, the Polymer Energy technology removes the burden of waste plastic from landfills and converts it into valuable fuel," said Patrick Lynch, CEO of NTIC. "As our other units in India and Thailand near full operational status, this third Polymer Energy order in Asia reflects the growing confidence in our technology."

Polymer Energy offers a fiscally and environmentally beneficial solution to waste plastic, by using catalytic pyrolysis to efficiently convert polyolefins into hydrocarbons. The modular plant design allows for scalable capacity, with each unit capable of processing up to ten tons of waste plastic per day. The robust process can handle plastic contaminated with up to twenty-five percent of other types of waste such as metals, glass, dirt and water. As a result, the waste plastic does not need to be pre-sorted, cleaned or dried prior to processing, which significantly reduces the overall cost of plant operation.

The marketing, installation and technical support of Polymer Energy in Thailand is exclusively managed by Single Point Energy & Environment (SPEE), a 50:50 joint venture between NTIC and the Specialty Group of Companies.

The Polymer Energy technology was developed by Mr. Zbigniew Tokarz, and is marketed under the T-Technology(tm) brand in Europe. The technology has won several industry awards, including the prestigious 2006 European Environmental Press Award for innovative waste management solutions. For more information, visit www.polymerenergy.com.

About Northern Technologies International Corporation

Northern Technologies International Corporation (Nasdaq:NTIC) develops, markets and sells proprietary environmentally beneficial technologies and services via a direct sales force and network of joint ventures and distributors in over fifty countries. For more information, visit www.ntic.com.

The Northern Technologies International Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5481

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements contained in this 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 "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "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 and NTIC's reliance on its intellectual property rights and the absence of infringement of the intellectual property rights of others. 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-KSB and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-QSB. NTIC urges all interested parties to read these reports 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.

This news release was distributed by GlobeNewswire, www.globenewswire.com

SOURCE: Northern Technologies International Corporation

Northern Technologies International 
Corporation
          Christina Oostdik
          763.225.6632
          coostdik@ntic.com

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