Varel International Announces New Chief Financial Officer

(DALLAS, 09 April 2009) - Varel International, the world's largest independent drill bit company for the oil & gas and mining/industrial industries, announced the appointment of John Capasso as the company's new Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Capasso will be responsible for all elements of global finance and Information Technology for Varel, and for Human Resources in North America.

Capasso joins Varel from Formed Fiber Technologies where he served the company as CFO for the past three years. With more than 20 years of operating experience, Capasso has extensive experience in mergers and acquisitions, lean manufacturing initiatives and IT systems implementations. Prior to joining Formed Fiber, Capasso spent 11 years with SPX Corporation in Chicago and Maine in various global financial and operating leadership roles and nine years in financial leadership positions with Cubic Corporation in New York.

"John is an excellent addition to our executive team," said Jim Nixon, President and CEO of Varel. "His combination of public and private equity experience in large and midsize companies fits in with Varel's strategic objective of growth, coupled with financial discipline and internal controls."

Capasso, a CPA, earned his undergraduate degree in business, majoring in accounting, at Boston College and later attended the MBA program at New York University's Stern School of Business. John started his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers in Stamford, Connecticut.

He will office at Varel's headquarters in Carrollton, Texas.

Founded in 1947, Varel International is the world's largest independent supplier in the global oil & gas drill bit market. Headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, Varel services oil & gas, mining, and industrial markets with its comprehensive suite of roller cone and fixed cutter drill bits. The company employs more than 1,000 people and has manufacturing facilities in Carrollton, Texas; Houston, Texas; Matamoros, Mexico and Tarbes, France, as well as sales offices throughout the world. Varel's proprietary design capabilities, efficient manufacturing, and global sales force uniquely positions the company to provide high-quality drill bits that deliver excellent performance and value to its customer base. For more information, visit www.varelintl.com.

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