Empire Industries Closes $1 Million Private Placement, Appoints New Director

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA--(Marketwire - Dec. 8, 2011) - Empire Industries Ltd. ("Empire" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE:EIL) today announced it has closed a private placement of Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $1 million. The proceeds from the financing will be used for working capital purposes for Empire's North American activities.

The Company issued a total of 20,000,000 Units at a price of $0.05 per Unit with each Unit consisting of one (1) Common Share in the capital of the Company ("Common Share") and one half (1/2) of a Common Share Purchase Warrant ("Warrant"). Each whole Warrant entitles the holder to purchase one (1) Common Share of the Company at an exercise price of $0.10 until expiry on December 8, 2013. The Common Shares, Warrants and Common Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants are subject to a four month hold period.

The private placement has been fully subscribed for by Insiders. The primary subscriber was Qi Guang Investments (HK) Ltd., controlled by Mr. Qiguang Qiu. Mr. Qiu's $800,000 investment in this private placement is in addition to the $450,000 investment he made earlier in 2011, and the $711,000 he has loaned to the Company on a limited recourse basis to fund the Company's 45% equity ownership interest in Dongguan Qiguang Dynamic Steel Structures, Ltd. This Chinese corporation is 55% owned by a company controlled by Mr. Qiu. It operates out of a new, 75,000 square foot shop in Dongguan, China, with opportunities for expansion.

Contemporaneously with the closing of the private placement, the Board of Directors appointed Chao Jian (Jane) Lin to the Board of Directors. Jane is a Canadian citizen who was born and raised in China. She has degrees from Guangzhou University and the University of British Columbia. Her knowledge of the Chinese market and culture is expected to provide an invaluable contribution to Empire's Board.

About Empire Industries Ltd.

Empire Industries Ltd. manufactures specialized engineered products and sells these products domestically and in select international export markets. The company also provides steel fabrication & installation services, primarily to the industrial, commercial and infrastructure market in Western Canada. The company also has two key strategic equity partnerships; a 49% ownership of ACE Industrial Services that operates in the oil sands industrial maintenance services market, and a 45% ownership of a Chinese joint venture company in the steel fabrication market in Asia. Empire's common shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol EIL.

For more information about the Company, visit www.empind.com.

Reader Advisory

This news release contains forward-looking statements, within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, concerning Empire's business and affairs. In certain cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". These forward looking statements are based on current expectations, and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances that may cause actual results to differ materially. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking information is provided as of the date of this press release, and Empire assumes no obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances, except as may be required under applicable securities laws.