FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Kitco CEO Wins Utah Entrepreneur of the Year Award
-______Springville, Utah, July 8, 2005	Brent Wood, CEO of Wencor receives Entrepreneur of the Year award from Jack Brittain, VP of Technology Venture Development/Dean, David Eccles School of Business University of Utah and Sharon Johnson of the Deseret News.
______Kitco announced today that its CEO, Brent Wood, was named winner of the Ernst & Young Utah Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2005 Award, in the Manufacturing and Distribution category during a banquet at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City. A panel of judges comprised of local business and community leaders selected Wood.
______"To be selected as a finalist is an honor," said Wood. "To win is unbelievable. The credit has to go to all the employees and suppliers that work hard to deliver what our customers are looking for, that is, outstanding service and quality products."
______Wencor and its subsidiaries provide parts and services to the aviation industry. Wood founded his first company, Kitco, in 1970. Working from his home, he and his family packaged seals to send to customers.
______Since then, Wood has acquired additional companies: Wencor, Durham/Daniels, Dixie Aerospace, Optimum Engineering, and APS. He announced while accepting the award that he has signed papers for a new acquisition.
______With over 150,000 parts available, Wencor has become the worldwide leader in parts distribution and PMA (Parts Manufacturing Approval) development. Firms need to receive permission to manufacture each individual aircraft part from the FAA.
______"The finalists for this year's awards are exemplary individuals who are the backbone of our economy and the successors to our nation's long tradition of business innovation," said David Jolley, managing partner of the Salt Lake office of Ernst & Young.
About Wencor
______Wencor has been involved in the aviation business for over 50 years and is a worldwide leader in aircraft parts distribution and PMA development. The firm provides thousands of FAA-PMA parts for maintenance on various commercial airline systems including power generation, pneumatic control, hydraulic and fuel as well as auxiliary power units and turbine engines. Wencor is also an authorized distributor for key aircraft parts manufacturers including PerkinElmer, Airtomic, Sonic, B/E Aerospace, Greene Tweed & Co., Parker Seal and many more. Wencor is also a provider of auto-replenishment systems, kitting services, machining capabilities and repair and overhaul services.
______With the acquisition of APS, Wencor has recently entered into the In-flight Entertainment (IFE) market, developing cutting edge technology and new designs.
______Wencor is based in Springville, UT, with offices in Washington, Georgia, Florida, Arizona, Illinois, Amsterdam, China, Japan, and Singapore. Please visit our state of the art e-commerce site, www.wencor.com, or call us at (801) 489-2000.
About Ernst & Young and the award process
______The Entrepreneur of the Year awards program has expanded to more than 125 cities in 40 countries.
______To be eligible, a nominee must be an owner/manager of a private or public company who is primarily responsible for the recent performance of the company and an active member of top management.
______Winners in several national categories will be announced at an awards gala in November in Palm Springs, Calif. The overall national Entrepreneur of the Year Award recipient is then considered for the world event held in Monte Carlo.
______Ernst & Young provides clients with a broad array of services relating to audit and risk-related services, tax, and transactions. For more information visit the Ernst & Young web site at www.ey.com/perspectives.