Ceradyne, Inc. Receives $10 Million XSBI Body Armor Order

COSTA MESA, CA, Jun 01 (MARKET WIRE) --
Ceradyne, Inc. (NASDAQ: CRDN) announced that it has received an order for
approximately $10 million for "side plates" designed for the more lethal
"X" threat. These side ballistic inserts are referred to as XSBI.
Ceradyne plans to begin shipments late in Q2 with completion estimated to
be by Q3 2011.

David P. Reed, Ceradyne President, North American Operations, commented:
"We are pleased to have been awarded this XSBI contract. We have already
ramped up our Lexington, Kentucky and Irvine, California facilities."

About Ceradyne, Inc.
Ceradyne develops, manufactures, and markets
advanced technical ceramic products and components for defense,
industrial, energy, automotive/diesel, and commercial applications. In
many high performance applications, products made of advanced technical
ceramics meet specifications that similar products made of metals,
plastics or traditional ceramics cannot achieve. Advanced technical
ceramics can withstand extremely high temperatures, combine hardness with
light weight, are highly resistant to corrosion and wear, and often have
excellent electrical capabilities, special electronic properties and low
friction characteristics. Additional information about the Company can be
found at http://www.ceradyne.com.

Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information
contained herein, this press release contains forward-looking statements
regarding future events and the future performance of Ceradyne that
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected. Words such as "anticipates," "believes,"
"plans," "expects," "intends," "future," and similar expressions are
intended to identify forward-looking statements. These risks and
uncertainties are described in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2010 and its Quarterly Reports on
Form 10-Q as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

David Reed
President, North American Operations
(714) 549-0421, x8245

Phil Bourdillon/Gene Heller
Silverman Heller Associates
(310) 208-2550

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