Cereplast Strengthens Sales Force in North America and Europe

Cereplast, Inc. (Nasdaq:CERP), a leading manufacturer of proprietary biobased, sustainable plastics, today announced the addition of two plastics industry veterans to key roles in North America and Europe. William G. Mashy has been appointed as Vice President of Sales and Marketing of North America, and will lead the Company's strategy to maximize sales and profitability in the region. Emilio Sitta has been appointed as Regional Sales Director in Italy, and will identify new markets and drive sales for the Cereplast Hybrid Resins® product line in the country.

William G. Mashy has a 24-year track record of success in sales, management and marketing working for privately held international plastic packaging manufacturer, Rehrig Pacific Company. Most recently he was General Manager for the Material Handling Business Group, a division generating $175 million in annual sales. Prior to spending nearly a decade as General Manager, Mr. Mashy was Vice President of Marketing and had also worked in various senior sales roles. At Cereplast, he will lead the sales and marketing team in North America, and will be responsible for negotiating strategic partnerships to drive revenue growth and increase margins.

"Cereplast's North American manufacturing presence combined with its strong product development capability uniquely positions Cereplast to capitalize on the growing demand for sustainable products," said Mr. Mashy. "I am excited to be a part of Cereplast and look forward to working with Mr. Scheer and the rest of the sales and marketing team to drive results quickly."

Emilio Sitta has nearly forty years of experience working in the plastics industry, including senior marketing and business development roles at American and European multinational corporations including GE Plastics Italia, Borealis Italia, and Witfield S.r.L. as Regional Sales Director, he will be responsible for developing new markets for Cereplast bioplastic resins in Italy, with a specific emphasis on the Cereplast Hybrid Resins® product line.

"The industry for bioplastic substitutes of traditional plastics has experienced rapid growth in recent years and we expect that growth to continue in the foreseeable future. We are ideally positioned with proprietary technology and industry expertise. To sustain our growth and continue establishing ourselves as a leader in the industry we must surround ourselves with top executives. We are pleased to welcome Mr. Mashy and Mr. Sitta with their wealth of experience, and are excited for them to be a part of the Cereplast team. We are confident that the steps we are taking to strengthen our sales force in North America and Europe will help drive the sales growth that we expect to achieve in 2012 and beyond," concluded Cereplast Chairman and CEO, Frederic Scheer.