Viasystems Certified on Shocking Technologies' Unique ESD Protection Solution

SAN JOSE, CA--(Marketwire - Jul 30, 2012) -  Shocking Technologies, Inc., developer of the patented Voltage Switchable Dielectric™ (VSD™) nano-composite material for protecting electronic products from electrostatic discharge (ESD), announced that Viasystems (NASDAQ: VIAS) and its recently acquired subsidiary DDi have been certified to produce printed circuit boards (PCBs) that utilize Shocking Tech's innovative Voltage Switchable Dielectric™ (VSD) material. Viasystems is recognized as a premier supplier to the automotive industries and also has large footprint in the Chinese electronics industry. The certification follows a period of successful evaluation of Shocking Tech's XStatic™ VSD material by Viasystems.

The XStatic material is embedded in PCBs to protect components and systems from harmful ESD events. Shocking Tech's XStatic solution reduces component count and frees up space for other functionality while simplifying design, improving ESD protection, and slashing development time.

"The XStatic solution continues to gain momentum as the world's leading PCB makers become familiar with it capabilities and ease of use. We are excited to have Viasystems, another major PCB manufacturer, certify and validate our approach and look forward to working with their customers to help them take advantage of the proven benefits XStatic offers," said Lex Kosowsky, President and CEO of Shocking Technologies.

About XStatic™
Shocking Technologies' XStatic material is a polymer nano-composite that functions substantially as an insulator (dielectric) during normal circuit operation and becomes substantially conductive when the voltage increases beyond a predefined threshold. The XStatic material reverts back to behaving substantially as an insulator after the voltage drops back below the threshold to normal operating levels. The net result is that when the XStatic material is incorporated in a PCB or package substrate, damaging ESD voltages and currents can be routed to ground or to other predetermined locations so that elements, circuits, components, devices and systems can be effectively protected against ESD events.

About Shocking Technologies
Founded in 2006, Shocking Technologies offers an innovative solution to protecting electronic products in the handheld, cell phone, LCD display, memory and other markets from the harmful effects of electrostatic discharge (ESD). Its patented Voltage Switchable Dielectric™ (VSD) polymer nano-composite material, XStatic™, is easily applied to PCB and package substrates, and coupled with Shocking's advanced design and simulation technologies provides the industry's only embedded solution capable of up to 100% protection against ESD. The ease of implementation and comprehensive coverage of the XStatic™ solution also lowers development time and costs and reduces product design size by eliminating less effective components traditionally used to protect devices against ESD effects. The company has over 200 patents and applications worldwide and has licensed numerous additional patents and applications. Shocking Technologies is a privately held company with investments from ARCH Venture Partners, ATA Ventures, Skylake Incuvest, Vista Ventures, Balch Hill Capital, Littelfuse, Inc., and a limited number of private investors. For more information, go to www.shockingtechnologies.com.

About Viasystems Group, Inc.
Viasystems is a technology leader and a worldwide provider of complex multi-layer, printed circuit boards (PCBs) and electro-mechanical solutions (E-M Solutions). Its PCBs serve as the "electronic backbone" of almost all electronic equipment, and its E-M Solutions products and services include integration of PCBs and other components into finished or semi-finished electronic equipment, for which it also provides custom and standard metal enclosures, cabinets, racks and sub-racks, backplanes, and busbars. Viasystems' approximately 15,600 employees around the world serve over 1,000 customers in the automotive, telecommunications, industrial & instrumentation, computer and datacommunications, and military and aerospace end markets. For additional information about Viasystems, please visit the company's website at www.viasystems.com.

Voltage Switchable Dielectric and XStatic are trademarks of Shocking Technologies, Inc. All other trademarks referred to are property of their respective owners.