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                                                                    EXHIBIT 99.1

                                  PRESS RELEASE

North American Technologies Group Raises $2.4 Million

Company to Expand Production Capacity to Meet One Million Composite Railroad Tie
Order from Union Pacific Railroad and Supply Other Railroads

HOUSTON January 23, 2003 -- North American Technologies Group, Inc., (NASDAQ:
NATK), an innovative producer of composite-based products made from recycled raw
materials, announced today that it has raised $2.4 million in convertible debt
and equity.

The funding includes $2 million in convertible debt from North American
Technologies Group's largest shareholder, Avalanche Resources, Ltd., which had
already invested more than $3.5 million in the company. It also includes another
$400,000 in new equity from existing and new shareholders.

"We continue to invest in what we believe in. NATK has the leading composite
railroad tie. TieTek(TM) ties are increasingly gaining acceptance by railroads
as a cost-effective and environmentally attractive alternative to creosote
treated wood ties. Over the next five years we expect composite railroad ties to
capture up to 10% of the estimated 16 million annual tie market in the U.S.
alone - a market valued at more than $550 million," said Kevin Maddox, Managing
Director of Avalanche Resources and Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

"This financing allows us to upgrade our existing production facility and begin
a second line to meet our sales backlog. We will be delivering our patented
TieTek(TM) ties over the next six years to meet our one million tie order from
Union Pacific Railroad," said President and CEO Henry Sullivan. "We have orders
for our ties from other railroads, and we expect a growing demand for our
product. The recent announcement that the largest supplier of treated wood ties
plans to exit the forest products business increases our commitment to provide
an environmentally attractive engineered composite tie. We plan to increase our
capacity to help satisfy the railroad industry's ongoing requirement for
replacement ties," Sullivan added.

"The Company's TieTek(TM) composite ties can be installed interchangeably with
wood ties, last longer and have a lower total cost of ownership in most
applications," Sullivan explained. "In addition, the TieTek(TM) ties are
environmentally friendly and have no disposal costs since they are completely
recyclable. The ties are waterproof, fire and insect resistant, and can hold
spikes and support heavy loads longer than wood, particularly in hot, wet
environments." Each year, approximately 75 million ties are installed in the
U.S. and around the world, at a cost of about $2.5 billion, according to Company
estimates.

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About North American Technologies Group

North American Technologies Group, Inc., through its TieTek subsidiary, has
already produced more than 75,000 composite railroad ties. TieTek has ties in
service on more than 20 railroads in the U.S. and internationally. Its patented
technology utilizes recycled plastics, tires and other raw materials to produce
composite parts that are an alternative to hardwood in structural applications.
The TieTek(TM) railroad tie eliminates the need to harvest many hundreds of
mature hardwood trees per mile of track installed while avoiding the requirement
for toxic preservatives. For more information on the Company, visit
www.natk.com.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements involving risks and
uncertainties. Statements in this press release that are not historical,
including statements regarding management intentions, beliefs, expectations,
representations, plans or predictions of the future are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the "safe-harbor" provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These risks include, but are not
limited to, fluctuations in financial results, availability and customer
acceptance of products and services, the impact of competitive products,
services and pricing, and general market trends and conditions. For a discussion
of other potential factors that could cause actual results to vary materially
from expectations, reference is made to North American Technologies Group's
respective annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange
Commission.