1

                                                                      Exhibit 17

                               JOINT PRESS RELEASE


                                       CONTACT:
                                       For Ferrofluidics Corporation
                                       William B. Ford, Chief Financial Officer
                                       Phone: (603) 883-9800 Fax: (603) 883-1213

                                       For Ferrotec Corporation
                                       Wakaki Hiroo, Assistant General Manager
                                       President Office
                                       Phone 81-3-3845-1027  Fax 81-3-3845-1019
                                       or
                                       Richard R. Cesati II, President
                                       Ferrotec Acquisition, Inc.
                                       Phone: (603) 626-0700 Fax (603) 626-0777

              FERROTEC ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF SUCCESSFUL TENDER OFFER
                            TO ACQUIRE FERROFLUIDICS

Nashua, New Hampshire and Tokyo, Japan--November 24, 1999--Ferrotec Corporation
(JASDAQ: 6890) and Ferrofluidics Corporation (NASDAQ: FERO) announced today that
Ferrotec Acquisition, Inc., Ferrotec's wholly owned subsidiary, succeeded in
obtaining approximately 89% of the total outstanding shares of Ferrofluidics
common stock as of the expiration of its cash tender offer for all outstanding
shares of Ferrofluidics common stock. The tender offer expired as scheduled at
12:00 midnight, New York City time, on Tuesday, November 23, 1999. Ferrotec
Acquisition has accepted for payment all shares validly tendered (including
shares subject to guaranteed delivery procedures) in the tender offer. The total
number of shares tendered was 4,958,626 including 55,660 shares tendered
pursuant to guaranteed delivery procedures.

Ferrotec expects Ferrofluidics to call a special meeting of shareholders to
approve the merger of Ferrotec Acquisition into Ferrofluidics. Given Ferrotec's
ownership of 89% of the outstanding shares of Ferrofluidics common stock
following the tender offer, Ferrotec has sufficient votes to ensure that the
merger is approved at such meeting.

Ferrotec, which was founded in 1980, manufactures and markets ferrofluids,
components and products based on ferrofluid technology for the electronic
industry, and thermoelectric modules. Two major products based on ferrofluid
technology are computer seals utilized in hard disk drives and vacuum seals for
the semiconductor industry. The thermo-modules are small wafer like heat pumps,
which change temperature when charged with electricity. As the thermo-modules
are easily controlled at a precise temperature, currently their main
applications are in semiconductor components, while multi-industrial
applications are yet to be introduced. Ferrotec is headquartered in Tokyo,
Japan, and has various manufacturing facilities in Japan and the People's
Republic of China.


                                       1
   2


Ferrofluidics Corporation is a manufacturer of Ferrofluidic(R) rotary seals,
ferrofluids and ferrofluid-based products for a variety of applications. These
products combine proprietary Ferrofluidic(R) technology with innovative
engineering to commercialize applications primarily for original equipment
manufacturers, enabling these customers' products to operate more effectively
and efficiently. Ferrofluidics is an international company serving worldwide
markets. The Company is headquartered in Nashua, New Hampshire, where it
manufactures all its ferrofluids and Ferrofluidic(R) products. It has
established sales and technical support facilities at its headquarters in the
United States, as well as in Germany and the United Kingdom.


                                       2