NI Selected for Prestigious List Based on Employee Feedback and Company Culture

AUSTIN, Texas, Jan. 22, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- For the 10th consecutive year, FORTUNE magazine named National Instruments (Nasdaq: NATI) to its annual "100 Best Companies to Work For" list. National Instruments was listed as number 69 on the magazine's annual ranking of the nation's top employers, rising 10 spots from the 2008 list. The annual survey polls employees from companies nationwide about the quality of their corporate cultures.

"It is such an honor to be recognized 10 consecutive years for providing a stable work environment that fosters such satisfaction and dedication from our employees," said Dr. James Truchard, NI president, CEO and co-founder. "National Instruments offers a fun and challenging work environment that inspires our employees to achieve the impossible and deliver innovative science and engineering solutions that are changing the world. I am honored that our employees are as excited to come to work every day as I am."

Best known for pioneering virtual instrumentation with its NI LabVIEW graphical system design platform, National Instruments offers numerous professional and personal development initiatives to support the company's philosophy that well-rounded employees foster the NI community spirit and provide inspiration to excel. Programs such as the LEGO(R) MINDSTORMS(R) mentorships with local schools and the Spring Volunteer Campaign present employees with opportunities to give back to the community. The company also offers wellness programs and an on-site gym to encourage a healthy lifestyle and activities such as Employee Appreciation Week, deck parties and company-wide meetings to promote camaraderie and a sense of community within the corporate environment. Additionally, National Instruments provides more than 1,000 training and development opportunities to help employees advance their technical and professional skills.

"Ten years of recognition as a Great Place to Work is an accomplishment we are very proud of and demonstrates that National Instruments has a work culture that is built to last," said Mark Finger, NI vice president of human resources. "This foundation serves us well as we work hard to meet the high expectations we have set for ourselves as an employer during all kinds of economic climates."

In addition to the U.S. honors, the Great Places to Work Institute, which compiles the list of best employers for FORTUNE each year, named National Instruments as one of the best places to work in Germany, Italy, Mexico and the UK during the last year.

How FORTUNE Chose the 100 Best

The Great Place to Work Institute compiles the list of best employers for FORTUNE each year. This year, more than 81,000 employees from 353 companies responded to the Institute's 57-question survey. Two-thirds of a company's score is based on the survey, which is sent to a minimum of 400 randomly selected employees from each company. The remainder of the score is based on the evaluation of company responses to several questions. For more information on the FORTUNE "100 Best Companies to Work For" list, visit www.fortune.com.

About National Instruments

National Instruments (www.ni.com) is transforming the way engineers and scientists design, prototype and deploy systems for measurement, automation and embedded applications. NI empowers customers with off-the-shelf software such as NI LabVIEW and modular cost-effective hardware, and sells to a broad base of more than 25,000 different companies worldwide, with no one customer representing more than 3 percent of revenue and no one industry representing more than 10 percent of revenue. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, NI has more than 5,000 employees and direct operations in more than 40 countries. For the past 10 years, FORTUNE magazine has named NI one of the 100 best companies to work for in America. Readers can obtain investment information from the company's investor relations department by calling (512) 683-5090, e-mailing nati@ni.com or visiting www.ni.com/nati.

LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies.

LEGO and MINDSTORMS are trademarks of the LEGO Group. (C)2009 The LEGO Group.

Editor Contact: Julia Betts, (512) 683-8165

SOURCE National Instruments