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NEWS RELEASE

For further information contact:

Dailey J. Berard                                        Pete Roman
Chief Executive Officer                                 Chief Financial Officer
(319)          367-8291                                         (318) 373-5506

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1998

New Iberia, Louisiana - UNIFAB International, Inc. (NASDAQ-UFAB) announced today
that it has completed its acquisition of the assets of Professional Industrial
Maintenance, LLC (PIM). PIM provides maintenance services to the petrochemical
industry and, at its 60 acre fabrication facility located twelve miles south of
Lake Charles, Louisiana, PIM provides repair, refurbishment and conversion
services for oil and gas drilling rigs. PIM will operate as a wholly-owned
subsidiary of UNIFAB International, Inc.

"With 40-foot water depth to the Gulf of Mexico, the PIM facility provides
UNIFAB with the deepest Gulf of Mexico access of any fabrication facility along
the Louisiana coast," said Dailey J. Berard, President, Chairman and CEO. "Its
location on the industrial canal at the intersection of the Calcasieu River and
Pass and the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is just twenty miles from the Gulf of
Mexico and provides our customers ideal access. This acquisition significantly
expands our capability to service the expanding deep water fabrication needs for
both the domestic and international markets. We expect to continue PIM's
existing maintenance service business in the petrochemical industry and to
expand PIM's existing repair, refurbishment and conversion services for deep
water drilling rigs and jack ups. We also expect in the near future to make
substantial capital investment that will enable the deep water fabrication
facility to support the drilling industry's needs in both refurbishment upgrades
of jack up and semi-submersible drilling rigs for deep water use, as well as new
construction of deep water drilling rigs, platforms, and platform components.
PIM currently employs over two hundred production employees and we expect to
increase that number significantly. We also expect to be able to cut costs and
to benefit from the synergy of combining PIM's operations with UNIFAB's."

UNIFAB International, Inc. is an industry leader in the custom fabrication of
decks, equipment modules and other structures used in the development and
production of offshore oil and gas reserves. The Company also refurbishes and
retrofits existing jackets and decks and performs offshore piping hookup and
platform maintenance services. Dailey J. Berard serves on the Louisiana
Workforce Commission and other task forces that are working to improve the
training and education of the workforce of Louisiana.

Statements made in this news release regarding UNIFAB's expectations as to
future operations of UNIFAB and PIM and other statements included herein that
are not statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements that depend
upon the following factors, among others: continued demand for the services
provided by UNIFAB and PIM, availability of skilled employees, and UNIFAB's
ability to integrate and manage the acquired business. Should any of these
factors not continue as anticipated, actual results and plans could differ
materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements.