Oak Ridge, TN, October 17, 2002 –Advanced Measurement Technology, a division of AMETEK, Inc. Paoli, PA which includes ORTEC products, announced today the signing of an exclusive collaboration agreement with Hymatic Engineering Company Limited, Redditch, Worcestershire, United Kingdom. Under the terms of the agreement, ORTEC has the exclusive commercial right to the use of Hymatic’s Ultra- Long Life Miniature Stirling coolers for the cooling of High Purity Germanium (HPGe) Gamma-Ray detectors, of which ORTEC is the leading manufacturer.

HPGe detectors offer high detection sensitivity as well as the ability to distinguish between natural radioactivity and harmful nuclear materials. They are of increasing importance in security applications for agencies such as customs and police departments whose responsibility it is to intercept shipments of smuggled nuclear materials and for government agencies like the US Dept of Energy that respond to emergency requests for identification of suspect cargo or packages. Until recently, portable HPGe detection systems required liquid nitrogen to cool the detectors. Liquid nitrogen, in addition to being a hazardous material upon contact with skin, is costly and difficult to obtain in some locations thus limiting the use of these high precision detection systems in security applications.

The Hymatic cryocoolers, when combined with ORTEC HPGe detectors, eliminate the problems related to liquid nitrogen, requiring only a source of electrical power such as a rechargeable battery. The coolers have an ultra-long 5 year continuous operation design life, are low power, light and small enough to be hand-held, yet very rugged. The technology is the result of a 10 year collaboration with the Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University, UK. Early prototypes have already exceeded 55,000 hours of operation.

An ORTEC spokesman commented, "In combination, these technologies represent a capability leap forward. A practical HPGe-based portable nuclear material identification system represents a great raising of the bar in the fight for homeland security."

ORTEC products are manufactured and distributed by Advanced Measurement Technology, Inc. Oak Ridge, TN, USA (formerly PerkinElmer Instruments). Advanced Measurement Technology is a division of AMETEK ,Inc. (NYSE:AME), Paoli, PA a leading global manufacturer of electronic instruments and electric motors with annual sales of more than $1 billion.

Hymatic was founded in 1937, and is an acknowledged world leader in the design and manufacture of miniature Joule-Thomson and Stirling cryogenic cooling devices and techniques for infra-red applications. The Company operates out of a modern, purpose-built site in Redditch, Worcestershire, employing approximately 250 people and with annual sales of approximately $35 million.