SPRINGDALE, Ark., May 21, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- At approximately 8:45 AM this morning, a fire broke out in one of Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies' (Nasdaq:AERT) raw material storage silos at the Springdale South plant. The Springdale fire department together with plant technicians had been monitoring a buildup of heat in the silo since yesterday morning. Emergency services responded quickly, and the fire was extinguished by approximately 9:00 AM. As a precaution, all plant operations were halted while emergency service personnel ensured that the environment was secured. Operations at the Company's North Springdale plant are expected to resume later today and the South plant, where the fire occurred, within a few days. President Tim Morrison stated, "AERT would like to personally thank all of the emergency services including Springdale firefighters, paramedics and police for their immediate and professional response and for the competent manner in which they responded."
The cause of the fire was not immediately known; however, it was confined to the individual storage facility and is not expected to impact product manufacturing or deliveries. One worker suffered minor burns and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
About Advanced Environmental Recycling Technologies (A.E.R.T.)
Since 1989, A.E.R.T. has pioneered the use of recycled polyethylene plastic in the manufacture of composite building materials. With its constantly evolving portfolio of patented and proprietary recycling technologies, A.E.R.T. has been widely recognized as a leader in resource conservation innovation and received the EPA Award for Environmental Excellence for its process of converting scrap plastic to composite outdoor decking. A.E.R.T. converts reclaimed plastic and wood fiber waste into quality outdoor decking systems, fence systems, and door and window components. The Company is the exclusive manufacturer of Weyerhaeuser ChoiceDek(r) decking, which is available in multiple colors and is sold in all Lowe's Home Improvement stores. See www.choicedek.com for more information. A.E.R.T.'s MoistureShield(r) decking program is expanding and products are available in many parts of the U.S. now, with national distribution planned for 2008. See www.moistureshield.com for product information or to find a regional distributor or dealer. A.E.R.T. operates manufacturing facilities in Springdale and Lowell, with a raw materials facility in Junction, Texas and a state of the art recycling facility under construction in Watts, Oklahoma. This LEED certified recycling facility is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2009. For more information on the Company, visit www.aertinc.com.
The AERT, Inc. logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=4905
Certain statements in this news release regarding projected results of operations, or, projected results of financial plans or future strategies and initiatives, including, but not limited to, projections of revenue, projections of profitability, any and all future expectation, and plans for future activities may and should be regarded as "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Securities Litigation Reform Act. These statements involve, among other things, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause A.E.R.T., Inc.'s actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. A.E.R.T. currently is considering, but may or may not in the future implement any or all of the items and issues listed in any planned budget or strategic initiative, due to, among other things, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors.
A.E.R.T., Inc. undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, change in strategy, or otherwise. The above mentioned listing of risks and uncertainties is not inclusive. For a more detailed discussion of some, but not all, of the risks and uncertainties that may affect A.E.R.T., Inc., see A.E.R.T., Inc.'s filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2007 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2008.