Hardide Regulatory News (HDD)

19th June 2012

Hardide plc

("Hardide" or "the Group")

Appointment of CEO

Hardide plc (AIM:HDD), the provider of unique metal surface engineering technology, is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr Philip Kirkham (age 59) as Chief Executive Officer of the Group with effect from 1st September 2012.

Mr Kirkham is a seasoned CEO with substantial international experience and a strong background in marketing, sales and production in the metal processing sector. Between 2008 and 2009, he was CEO of private equity backed Material Advantage Group Ltd which supplies machined and semi-machined metal components to the oil and gas industry. Since then he has been the CEO of a company operating in the industrial lighting industry.

Previously, from 2000 to 2006, Mr Kirkham held senior management positions with Firth Rixson Ltd, the multi-national provider of highly engineered products to high technology industries with a turnover of £550 million and 2,000 employees worldwide. His roles comprised Senior VP, Firth Rixson Metals Division and Managing Director, Firth Rixson Special Steels.

Subsequently he joined Rolls Royce plc as Executive Vice President (Rotatives) where he was responsible for its £400 million global operation and supply chain for rotating parts for aerospace, industrial and marine gas turbine engines.

Mr Kirkham is a Chartered Engineer and a European Engineer (Eur Ing) with a BSc in Chemical Engineering from the University of Manchester and an MSc in Advanced Manufacturing Management. He is a Fellow of both the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Engineering and Technology. He developed his early career with Sheffield Forgemasters and the British Steel Corporation, starting out on their graduate development programme

Robert Goddard, Chairman of Hardide plc commented: "We are very fortunate that Phil has agreed to join Hardide at this exciting time. The board is confident that his strong and relevant background in metal processing combined with his extensive commercial and management skills will prove successful in driving the company to the next stage of growth. We look forward to working with him to realise the great potential of Hardide and its technology."

The following further details are given in accordance with Rule 17 and Schedule 2 (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies:

Current directorships/partnerships:

Kingfisher Lighting Ltd

Lime Spinney Solutions Ltd

Previous directorships/partnerships for the past five years:

Ancon Special Steels Ltd

ESS Steels Group Ltd

ESS Steels Holdings Ltd

Engineering Special Steels Ltd

HLW 227 Ltd

HLW 235 Ltd

Material Advantage Group Asia Sdn Bhd

Material Advantage Group Ltd

Nexus Precision Engineering Ltd

Sheffield Deep Bore Ltd

Special Alloy Steels Ltd

Mr Kirkham was also a director of DSF Refractories Ltd which went into receivership in 1993 and was subsequently bought as a going concern.

On joining, Mr Kirkham will be granted share options under the Hardide plc EMI Share Option Scheme in relation to 20,000,000 ordinary 0.1p shares in the Group (the "Share Options"). The Share Options vest as to 50% 30 months from the date of grant and the remainder 60 months from the date of grant. The Share Options will all have an exercise price per Share Option equal to the closing price on the day of joining. If exercised now, the resulting shares would represent approximately 2.1 per cent of the current issued share capital of the Group.

There is no other information that is required to be included in accordance with Rule 17 and Schedule 2 (g) of the AIM Rules for Companies.

Ends

For further information:

Note to editors

Hardide Coatings

Hardide develops, manufactures and applies tungsten carbide-based coatings to a wide range of engineering components. The Group's patented technology is unique in that it combines abrasion, erosion and corrosion resistant properties in one coating. When applied to metal components, the technology is proven to offer dramatic cost savings through reduced downtime and extended part life. Customers include leading companies operating in oil and gas exploration and production, valve and pumps manufacturing, general engineering and aerospace.