MINNEAPOLIS — October 1, 2002 — PW Eagle, Inc. (Nasdaq-NMS: “PWEI”) today announced that it has entered into a revised loan agreement with its senior lenders. As a result of this agreement, the Company has reduced its annual fixed charges (principal, interest, taxes and capital expenditures) and increased its liquidity. As previously announced, over the last two years, the Company has reorganized its operations by consolidating production capacity from ten plants to eight and reducing its corporate overhead, entered into a long-term sale-leaseback transaction for certain facilities and renegotiated the terms of its senior and subordinated loan agreements. The goal of these efforts has been to reduce annual fixed charges, increase liquidity and improve profitability. The current revision to the senior loan facility announced today further advances the Company’s goal of improving its financial condition.

In the transaction, effective September 30, 2002, PW Eagle increased the amount of its senior term loan from approximately $15.9 million to $18 million while reducing its required principal payments under the loan by approximately $330,000 per year. In addition, as a result of the transaction, the Company’s availability under its revolving credit facility increased by approximately $8.5 million. Approximately $2 million of that amount comes from the increase in the senior term loan, and the balance is the result of a change in certain provisions in the loan agreement. The interest rates were reduced by one-quarter of one percent. Fleet Capital is continuing as the agent, and the CIT Group is continuing in the syndicate. The other two banks that were in the syndicate have been paid in full. The term of the senior loan agreement was also extended by one year to September 2005.

William H. Spell, PW Eagle chief executive officer, stated, “We are very pleased to have concluded this transaction as we continue to strive to reduced our fixed charges and increase our liquidity. We also believe that this two-bank syndicate will provide us with more flexibility than we had with the four-bank syndicate. While we have seen significant improvement in our financial results this year and in the industry conditions, we are continually exploring ways to further reduce our fixed charges and expenses and to become an even more efficient company.”

Third Quarter 2002 Results

PW Eagle expects to announce its third quarter 2002 financial results during the week of October 21, 2002. The Company will hold its Third Quarter 2002 Earnings conference call shortly after the release of the third quarter results. Detailed information will be announced in the coming weeks.

Statements that PW Eagle, Inc. may publish, including those in this announcement that are not strictly historical are “forward looking” statements made under the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statement by Mr. Spell made in this press release regarding his expectation that the two-bank syndicate will provide more flexibility than the four-bank syndicate is a forward looking statement that involves known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause the actual results to differ materially from those expected.

PW Eagle, Inc. is a leading extruder of PVC pipe and polyethylene tubing products. The Company operates eight manufacturing facilities in the midwestern and western United States. PW Eagle’s common stock is traded on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol “PWEI.”

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