Exhibit 99
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Company Contact:
Stanley J. Musial
Chief Financial Officer
(302) 456-6789
www.sdix.com
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Strategic Diagnostics Appoints New CEO
NEWARK, Del., September 4, 2003 - Strategic Diagnostics Inc. (Nasdaq: SDIX) - a
leading provider of antibody products and analytical test kits for the food
safety and water quality markets, today announced that the Board of Directors
has appointed Matthew H. Knight as President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr.
Knight has also been named to the Board of Directors. His employment is
scheduled to commence September 15, 2003.
Prior to joining SDI, Mr. Knight spent 23 years at Nalco Chemical Company. He
began his career in field sales in 1980, and advanced through a series of sales
and marketing management positions over the next 15 years. In 1996, Mr. Knight
became General Manager of Nalco's European operating group serving the water
management needs of manufacturers, including the food, beverage and
pharmaceutical industries. In 1998, he was promoted to General Manager of
Nalco's largest water treatment business unit and in 2000 he was promoted to
Group Vice President and President of the company's Industrial Division. Mr.
Knight also served as Group Vice President, Sales Force Optimization, focused on
development of sales and sales management processes for Nalco's global sales
force. Mr. Knight is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, with a B.A. in
Chemistry.
George Brannon, Chief Operations Officer for Silliker Laboratories, said of Mr.
Knight's appointment, "In the more than 10 years that I have known Matt, he has
demonstrated an unwavering commitment to enhancing customer satisfaction through
the delivery of value added programs and services. I'm sure he will bring the
same customer focus to SDI."
Grover C. Wrenn, Chairman of the Board of Directors of SDI, commented, "We are
pleased to welcome Matt to the senior management team at the Company. During our
search, we focused on identifying an executive with strong all-around abilities
and particular strengths in the areas of sales leadership and market development
skill. We believe we have found those qualifications in Matt. We are confident
in his abilities and look forward to working with him to further develop SDI as
a market leader in our business categories.
"The Board also wishes to thank Art Koch for his service as interim CEO. Art's
dedication to the Company and his leadership were vital to the Company over
these past months. Art will be returning to his position as Chief Operating
Officer and will continue to be an integral part of the senior management team."
Mr. Knight commented, "I am excited to join SDI as President and CEO. The
Company has established itself as a leader in the agricultural and water quality
marketplace by helping its customers respond to testing requirements with
technology that is faster, more accurate, and more cost-effective to use. I look
forward to expanding on these important customer benefits, and building our
sales and marketing presence on a global scale."
A conference call will be held to introduce Mr. Knight to the investment
community on Tuesday, September 16 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. The dial-in number will be
877-407-8035 (201-689-8035 outside the U.S.). A live webcast of the conference
call will be available on the Company's website, www.sdix.com, as well as
www.vcall.com. For those who are unable to listen to the live broadcast, an
audio replay of the call will be available on each of these websites for 90
days. Telephone replays of the call will be available from 2:00 p.m. EDT on
September 16 through 11:59 p.m. on September 17. To listen to the telephone
replay, dial 877-660-6853 (201-612-7415 outside the U.S.) and enter account
number 1628 and conference ID 75577.
About Strategic Diagnostics Inc.
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SDI is a leading provider of biotechnology-based diagnostic tests for a broad
range of agricultural, industrial, and water treatment applications. Through its
antibody business, Strategic BioSolutions, Strategic Diagnostics also provides
antibody and immunoreagent research and development services. SDI's test kits
are produced in a variety of formats suitable for field and laboratory use,
offering advantages of accuracy, cost-effectiveness, portability, and rapid
response. FeedChek(TM), TraitChek(TM), GMO QuickChek(TM), and GMOChek(TM) are
pending trademarks for SDI.
This news release contains forward-looking statements reflecting SDI's current
expectations. When used in this press release, the words "anticipate", "could",
"enable", "estimate", "intend", "expect", "believe", "potential", "will",
"should", "project" "plan" and similar expressions as they relate to SDI are
intended to identify said forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned
that all forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which may
cause actual results to differ from those anticipated by SDI at this time. Such
risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, changes in demand for
products, delays in product development, delays in market acceptance of new
products, retention of customers and employees, adequate supply of raw
materials, the successful integration and consolidation of the Maine production
facilities, inability to obtain or delays in obtaining third party, including
AOAC, or required government approvals, the ability to meet increased market
demand, competition, protection of intellectual property, non-infringement of
intellectual property, seasonality, and other factors more fully described in
SDI's public filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.