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July 7, 2011

Smith-Midland Receives Award from American Concrete Institute for Work on University of Maryland Research Park Building

Smith-Midland Corporation® was recently honored by the National Capital Chapter of the American Concrete Institute (ACI) as a winner in their 2011 Concrete Awards Competition. Smith-Midland was recognized for their involvement in the construction of the 120,000 square-foot M Square II Office building located within the University of Maryland’s 124-acre M Square Research Park in College Park.

Smith-Midland provided 38,000 square feet (333 individual pieces) of architectural precast panels for the M Square II building, which was designed to match the existing M Square I building, which Smith-Midland provided the panels for two years ago. The building’s design is a three-dimensional representation of the research activities that will occur inside. The scientific process is depicted as a "pristine cube" being pierced by an angled wall, with the collision symbolizing the "spark of ideas" that occurs during scientific endeavors. The cube feature was incorporated into the precast concrete panels produced by Smith-Midland.

Aside from the design feature, the use of precast concrete panels provides many benefits. The panels are manufactured in a closed, factory-controlled environment, which ensures a uniformly high-quality product and reduces construction time on site. In producing the precast panels, Smith-Midland adhered to the medium-heavy blast load under the Anti-Terrorism Standard for Blast Resistance as mandated by the Department of Homeland Security standards, which the M Square II building was designed to meet.

Ashley Smith, president and COO of Smith-Midland, said "This was a wonderful opportunity to be involved in a project that will ultimately contribute to the long-term growth of the College Park community." M Square Research Park is a partnership with the University of Maryland and Corporate Office Properties Trust (COPT). The architect for the project is Design Collective, Inc., and the general contractor is Whiting Turner, both out of Baltimore, Md.

About Smith-Midland Corporation (Del.)
Smith-Midland Corporation (Del.) is a publicly traded company (OTC BB: SMID, SMIWC; Boston Stock Exchange: SMM, SMM/W). Smith-Midland (Va.) develops, manufactures and sells a broad array of precast concrete products for use primarily in the construction, transportation and utilities industries. Smith-Midland Corporation (Del.) has two manufacturing facilities located in Midland, Va., and Reidsville, N.C. Easi-Set® Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Smith-Midland Corporation (Del.), licenses the production and sale of Easi-Set products and provides diversification opportunities to the precast industry worldwide. For more information, please call (540) 439-3266 or visit www.smithmidland.com.