FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BRITTON, South Dakota – April 12, 2001 – Sheldahl, Inc. (NASDAQ: SHEL) today announced it will conclude operations in its Britton, South Dakota assembly facility by the end of this year. The Britton facility, which currently employs approximately 55 workers, specializes in electronic assemblies for use in the automotive and computing industries.

"The current economic environment has resulted in less demand for the assemblies produced in Britton. Consequently, the plant is underutilized, operating at less than half of its capacity. After a careful review of business conditions, we do not expect demand to increase in the foreseeable future, which requires we take this action," said Donald Friedman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sheldahl.

The Company said it has initiated a ramp-down schedule, which is expected to be complete by year's end. Sheldahl said that there would be no interruption of customer service during the ramp-down period. The Company said it would supply affected customers through its other North American operations.

The Company is giving at least 60 days notice to all affected employees and is providing severance packages and outplacement services.

About Sheldahl

Sheldahl, Inc. is a leading producer of high-density substrates, high quality flexible printed circuitry, and flexible laminates primarily for sale to the automotive electronics and data communications markets. The Company, which is headquartered in Northfield Minnesota, has operations in Northfield; Longmont, Colorado; Endicott, NY; South Dakota; Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and Chihuahua, Chih., Mexico. Sheldahl's Common Stock trades on the Nasdaq National Market tier of the Nasdaq Stock Market under the Symbol: SHEL. Sheldahl news and information can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sheldahl.com.

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The discussion above contains statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements by their nature involve substantial risks and uncertainties as described by Sheldahl’s periodic filings. Actual results may differ materially depending on a variety of factors, including, but not limited to the following: the achievement of Sheldahl’s projected operating results, the ability of Sheldahl to successfully obtain waivers from its lenders for defaults on its debt covenants, the achievement of efficient volume production and related sales revenue results at Longmont, the ability of Sheldahl to identify and successfully pursue other business opportunities. Additional information with respect to the risks and uncertainties faced by Sheldahl may be found in, and the prior discussion is qualified in its entirety by, the Risk Factors contained in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including Sheldahl’s Annual Report, Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 1, 2000, and other SEC filings. Sheldahl does not undertake any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce developments or events relating to the matters described herein.