Applied Films Corporation Elects Executive Officers

LONGMONT, Colo., Jan. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Applied Films Corporation (NASDAQ: AFCO) announced today that its Board of Directors has elected: Dr. Robert Elschner to the office of Senior Vice President, Glass Division, and Dr. Chung Ping Lai to the office of Senior Vice President, Display Division. Dr. Elschner will primarily be located in California; and Dr. Lai will primarily be located in Taiwan.

These appointments coincide with a change in the organizational structure to a divisional structure following the recent acquisition the Company made of Vacuum Coating Technologies, Inc. ("VACT") which closed on November 28, 2005. The appointments also reflect Applied Films' strategy, for "Innovations for the Future", creating an international management team reflecting its geographically diverse customer base.

"Dr. Lai and Dr. Elschner bring tremendous managerial and technical strengths to our organization," stated Thomas T. Edman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "I am pleased to welcome both of them to our Executive Team, which will now consist of seven executives in four countries."

Dr. Robert Elschner was appointed Senior Vice President, Glass Division, on November 28, 2005, at the close of the acquisition of VACT. In this role, Dr. Elschner will lead the worldwide activities of the Glass Division of Applied Films. Dr. Elschner was formerly CEO of VACT. He began his career with the Berliner Glass KGaA. From there, he joined Von Ardenne Anlagentechnik GmbH, as a member of the executive board and served as CEO of Von Ardenne Coating Technologies, Inc. Dr. Elschner led the management buy out of that unit and continued to serve as CEO of VACT in Fairfield, CA. Dr. Elschner holds a doctorate in physics from the Technical University of Berlin.

Dr. Chung Ping Lai joined Applied Films as the Senior Vice President, Display Division, on January 1, 2006. In this role, Dr. Lai will lead the world-wide activities of the Display Division of Applied Films. Dr. Lai was formerly the President of Unaxis Taiwan Limited. Prior to re-joining Unaxis Taiwan in October 2004, Dr. Lai was president of Actima Technology from 2002 to 2004, and President of Unaxis Balzers Process Systems Taiwan from 1998 to 2002. Dr. Lai has over 10 years experience in the flat panel display, semiconductor and machinery industries, and holds a doctorate in Ceramics Science and Engineering from Rutgers University.

About Applied Films

Applied Films is a leading provider of thin film deposition equipment to diverse markets such as the flat panel display, the architectural glass, solar cell, and the consumer products packaging and electronics industries. For more information, please visit our web site at http://www.appliedfilms.com/.