Press Release

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 07, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI) (Nasdaq: SCON) today issued the following statement:

“It is with great sadness that we announce the death of Chairman Martin (Marty) A. Kaplan. On behalf of our Board of Directors, management team and employees, we extend our deepest sympathies to Marty’s family,” said Jeff Quiram, STI’s president and CEO.

“Marty provided inspiration, remarkable passion and exceptional experience to STI. We are deeply saddened by this tragic loss. Marty was an innovative and visionary leader with a passion for next generation technologies. He was a fantastic teacher and a great friend. His positive attitude and valuable counsel will be sorely missed. We offer our heartfelt condolences to his family.”

Mr. Kaplan served on STI’s board since 2002 and was named Chairman of the Board in October 2010. From 2000 through 2012, Mr. Kaplan was Chairman of the Board of JDS Uniphase, Inc. (“JDSU”), a telecommunications equipment company, where he remained a director until August 2015. In August 2015, JDSU spun off its communications and commercial optical products business into the publicly-traded company Lumentum Holdings Inc., at which time Mr. Kaplan resigned from the JDSU Board and became Chairman of the Board of Lumentum Holdings Inc. In a career spanning 40 years, Mr. Kaplan last served as Executive Vice-President of the Pacific Telesis Group, which became a subsidiary of SBC Communications in 1997. Mr. Kaplan served as a director for a number of other public and private companies.

Mr. Kaplan earned a B.S. in Engineering from California Institute of Technology.

Mr. Kaplan was 81 years old.

About Superconductor Technologies Inc. (STI)
Superconductor Technologies Inc. is a global leader in superconducting innovation. Its Conductus^® superconducting wire platform offers high performance, cost-effective and scalable superconducting wire. With 100 times the current carrying capacity of conventional copper and aluminum, superconducting wire offers zero resistance with extreme high current density. This provides a significant benefit for electric power transmission and also enables much smaller or more powerful magnets for motors, generators, energy storage and medical equipment. Since 1987, STI has led innovation in HTS materials, developing more than 100 patents as well as proprietary trade secrets and manufacturing expertise. For more than 20 years STI utilized its unique HTS manufacturing process for solutions to maximize capacity utilization and coverage for Tier 1 telecommunications operators. Headquartered in Austin, TX, Superconductor Technologies Inc.'s common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the ticker symbol “SCON.” For more information about STI, please visit http://www.suptech.com.

Safe HarborStatement 
Statements in this press release regarding our business that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors, which could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. These factors and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: our limited cash and a history of losses; our need to materially grow our revenues from commercial operations and/or to raise additional capital (which financing may not be available on acceptable terms or at all) in the very near future, before cash reserves are depleted (which reserves are expected to be sufficient into the third quarter of 2019), to implement our current business plan and maintain our viability; the performance and use of our equipment to produce wire in accordance with our timetable; overcoming technical challenges in attaining milestones to develop and manufacture commercial lengths of our HTS wire; the possibility of delays in customer evaluation and acceptance of our HTS wire; the limited number of potential customers and customer pressures on the selling prices of our products; the limited number of suppliers for some of our components and our HTS wire; there being no significant backlog from quarter to quarter; our market being characterized by rapidly advancing technology; the impact of competitive products, technologies and pricing; manufacturing capacity constraints and difficulties; the impact of any financing activity on the level of our stock price; the dilutive impact of any issuances of securities to raise capital; the steps required to maintain the listing of our common stock with a U.S. national securities exchange and the impact on the liquidity and trading price of our common stock if we fail to maintain such listing; the cost and uncertainty from compliance with environmental regulations; and local, regional, and national and international economic conditions and events and the impact they may have on us and our customers.

Forward-looking statements can be affected by many other factors, including, those described in the "Business" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" sections of STI's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, and in STI's other public filings. These documents are available online at STI's website, www.suptech.com, or through the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements are based on information presently available to senior management, and STI has not assumed any duty to update any forward-looking statements.

Investor Relations Contact
Moriah Shilton or Kirsten Chapman
LHA      +1-415-433-3777       invest@suptech.com

Source: Superconductor Technologies Inc.