EXHIBIT 99.1

                                                           FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



                 SL INDUSTRIES, INC. APPOINTS IMPERIAL CAPITAL,
                                       LLC
                           TO ACT AS FINANCIAL ADVISOR

         MT. LAUREL, NEW JERSEY, AUGUST 8, 2002 . . . SL INDUSTRIES, INC. (NYSE
AND PHLX:SL) today announced that SL Industries, Inc. (the "Company") announced
that it has retained Imperial Capital, LLC to act as its financial advisor.
Imperial Capital, LLC will spearhead the Company's initiative to explore a sale
of some or all of its businesses and will also assist management in its ongoing
efforts to secure new long term debt to refinance the Company's current
revolving credit facility which matures on December 31, 2002. Warren
Lichtenstein, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, stated
"Imperial Capital is an outstanding organization with expertise in and a
commitment to middle market transactions. Their team of professionals has almost
completed its due diligence review of the Company. We look forward to working
with them to evaluate opportunities to maximize shareholder value." Lichtenstein
continued, "While the transition to Imperial Capital has caused some delay in
the potential sales process, we are confident that we have the right team in
place to aggressively explore a sale of some or all of the business of the
Company as well as assisting the Company in obtaining a new long term debt
facility. We expect the confidential offering memorandum to be completed
promptly and that Imperial will shortly start contacting potential acquirers.
Imperial has already begun to assist the Company in discussions with potential
lenders."

ABOUT SL INDUSTRIES

         SL Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures and markets Power and Data
Quality (PDQ) equipment and systems for industrial, medical, aerospace,
telecommunications and consumer applications. For more information about SL
Industries, Inc. and its products, please visit the Company's web site at
www.slpdq.com.



Forward-Looking Statements

         This press release contains statements that are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and
projections about the Company's business based, in part, on assumptions made by
management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and
involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict.
Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is
expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous
factors, including those described above and the following: the effectiveness of
the cost reduction initiatives undertaken by the Company, changes in demand for
the Company's products, product mix, the timing of customer orders and
deliveries, the impact of competitive products and pricing, constraints on
supplies of critical components, excess or shortage of production capacity,
difficulties encountered in the integration of acquired businesses and other
risks discussed from time to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange

Commission filings and reports. In addition, such statements could be affected
by general industry and market conditions and growth rates, and general domestic
and international economic conditions. Such forward-looking statements speak
only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company does not undertake
any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or
circumstances after the date of this release.

                               * * * * * * * * * *