Rentz Appointed to Innovation Council

Lawrence Rentz of Climax Portable Machine Tools Appointed to Oregon Innovation Council Serving as Technical Advisor

Newberg, Ore. - April 29, 2009 - Lawrence Rentz, Vice President of Engineering and Quality at Climax Portable Machine Tools, has been appointed by Governor Ted Kulongoski to serve as Technical Advisor on the Oregon Innovation Council.

The Council is tasked with advising the Governor and Legislature on issues related to business innovation and commercialization of research in order to strengthen Oregon’s competitiveness in the global market. Rentz, who joins a Council roster that includes many leading representatives from Oregon private industry as well as local universities and the Oregon Institute of Technology, will serve a twoyear term ending June 30, 2011.

"We are very proud that Lawrence was chosen by Governor Kulongoski to serve in this position," said Geoff Gilmore, President and CEO of Climax Portable Machine Tools. "His experience with the technology needs of diverse industries will be of real value in helping identify practical innovations that will build Oregon’s economy."

Rentz was named to the council because of his passion for process improvement and experience in leading a team of talented engineers in developing innovative technologies for a broad range of industry. His contributions have helped make Climax the world’s leading portable machine tool manufacturer by continually advancing the state of the art in machine tool technology. Most recently, he led the engineering team that was given the Innovative Product of the Year Award by SEDCOR, the Strategic Economic Development agency for the Mid–Willamette Valley in Oregon. The award was given for the development of an innovative machining system that allowed one of the world’s largest power generation service providers to repair a series of gas turbine housings without having to remove the interior turbine blades. This special machining system was able to complete the repair in record time, saving the associated power utilities millions of dollars in potential lost power generation time. Mr. Rentz holds a BSME degree from Cal Poly, an MBA from the University of Maine, holds 7 patents in design and manufacturing solutions, and is a certified Six Sigma Master Black Belt.

The Oregon Innovation Council was established in 2005. Among its duties is the promotion of agreements between public and private post–secondary education institutions and private industry that increase technology transfer, promote investment in specialized research facilities and research centers where Oregon has a distinct or emerging advantage for creating new products and businesses, and stimulating seed and start–up capital investment and entrepreneurial capacity that will promote economic growth in Oregon industries.

About Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc.

Based in Oregon and Germany, Climax Portable Machine Tools, Inc. is a strategic world–class provider of comprehensive, on–site machining solutions. The company offers specialized engineering consulting services, customized training programs and a full line of portable machine tools for sale and rent, enabling customers to efficiently perform on–site machining for applications in the power generation, shipbuilding, heavy construction and mining, as well as service and engineering sectors. Climax Portable Machine Tools pioneered the portable machine tools concept over 40 years ago, and as the world’s largest supplier of portable machine tools, offers standard and custom–built solutions. It holds 21 issues patents with 4 pending. Climax serves domestic and international markets through its own international offices and licensed representatives in 26 countries. More information about the company is available at www.cpmt.com.