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                                                           EXHIBIT 10(iii)(A)(3)

                             THIRD AMENDMENT TO THE
                              AMENDED AND RESTATED
                                RIGHTS AGREEMENT

         THIS THIRD AMENDMENT (the "Third Amendment"), dated as of April 1,
2003, is between National Service Industries, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the
"Company"), and EquiServe, L.P. (as successor-in-interest to First Chicago Trust
Company of New York), as Rights Agent (the "Rights Agent").

         WHEREAS, the Company and the Rights Agent are parties to an Amended and
Restated Rights Agreement dated as of December 17, 1997, as amended on April 30,
1998 and as further amended on January 6, 1999 (the "Rights Agreement").

         WHEREAS, NS ACQUISITION CORP., a Delaware corporation ("Buyer"), and
the Company propose to enter into an Agreement and Plan of Merger pursuant to
which Buyer will be merged with and into the Company and each share of common
stock of the Company will be converted into the right to receive a specified
amount of cash.

         WHEREAS, pursuant to Section 28 of the Rights Agreement, the Board of
Directors of the Company has determined that an amendment to the Rights
Agreement as set forth herein is necessary and desirable to reflect the
foregoing and certain other matters, and the Company and the Rights Agent desire
to evidence such amendment in writing.

         NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the mutual
agreements herein set forth, the parties hereto hereby agree as follows:

         1.       Amendment of Section 1. Section 1 of the Rights Agreement is
amended by inserting the following as a new paragraph at the end of Section 1:

                  "In addition, notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to
         the contrary, (i) neither NS Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation
         ("Buyer"), nor any Affiliate or Associate of Buyer, shall be deemed to
         be an Acquiring Person by virtue of the execution of the Agreement and
         Plan of Merger, to be entered into as of April 1, 2003, by and between
         Buyer and the Company, as it may be amended or supplemented from time
         to time in accordance with its terms (the "Merger Agreement"), or by
         virtue of any of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement
         and (ii) no Stock Acquisition Date or Distribution Date or Triggering
         Event shall be deemed to occur by virtue of the execution of the Merger
         Agreement or by virtue of any of the transactions contemplated by the
         Merger Agreement."

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         2.       Amendment of Section 24. Section 24 of the Rights Agreement is
amended by inserting the following as a new paragraph at the end of Section 24:

                  "In addition, notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to
         the contrary, this Agreement shall terminate and the Rights shall
         expire at the Effective Time (as defined in the Merger Agreement)."

         3.       Effectiveness. This Amendment shall be deemed effective as of
April 1, 2003, as if executed on such date. Except as expressly amended hereby,
all of the terms and provisions of the Rights Agreement are and shall remain in
full force and effect and shall be otherwise unaffected hereby.

         4.       Governing Law. This Amendment shall be deemed to be a contract
made under the laws of the State of Delaware and for all purposes shall be
governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of such State applicable
to contracts to be made and performed entirely within such State.

         5.       Counterparts. This Amendment may be executed in any number of
counterparts, each of such counterparts shall for all purposes be deemed to be
an original, and all such counterparts shall together constitute but one and the
same instrument.

         6.       Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction
of this Third Amendment is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other
authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms,
provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Third Amendment shall remain in
full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated.

                                       ***

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         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Third Amendment
to be duly executed as of the date first above written.

                                         NATIONAL SERVICE INDUSTRIES, INC.

                                         ------------------------------------
                                         Name:
                                         Title:

                                         EQUISERVE, L.P.

                                         ------------------------------------
                                         Name:
                                         Title:

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[SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES LOGO]                                  EXHIBIT 10.1
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<S>                                                   <C>

COMPANY CONTACT:                                      INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT:
Martin McDermut                                       Lippert / Heilshorn & Associates
Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer        Lillian Armstrong, Moriah Shilton
Email: mmcdermut@suptech.com                          Email:   lillian@lhai-sf.com
(805) 690-4500                                        (415) 433-3777
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             SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC. ANNOUNCES PRELIMINARY
                             FIRST QUARTER REVENUES

        -ADDS ANOTHER MAJOR U.S. BASED WIRELESS CARRIER TO CUSTOMER LIST-

      SANTA BARBARA, CALIF., APRIL 10, 2003 -- Superconductor Technologies Inc.
(Nasdaq: SCON) ("STI" or the "Company"), the global leader in high-temperature
superconducting (HTS) products for wireless voice and data applications, today
announced it expects net revenues of approximately $7.4 to $7.6 million for the
first quarter ended March 31, 2003, compared to $4.6 million in the first
quarter of 2002. The company ended the quarter with approximately $4.5 million
in commercial product backlog.

      In addition, STI recently added another major U.S. based wireless carrier
to its growing list of customers with general purchase agreements (GPAs), and
has received initial purchase orders under the new agreement. Second quarter
results will include shipments to this new customer.

      "STI now has GPAs with three of the top five cellular wireless carriers in
the U.S., which paves the way for continued market adoption of our
network-optimizing technology," stated M. Peter Thomas, president and chief
executive officer of Superconductor Technologies Inc. "As we expand in various
regions around the country, we are building a pipeline of demand that will drive
us toward our goal of $50 million in net revenues in 2003."

      Thomas continued, "Our first quarter 2003 success was achieved at a time
when a portion of STI's energies was diverted to the patent litigation brought
by ISCO International. As a result, in the first quarter STI saw a marked
increase in its litigation expenses that will impact first quarter earnings.
STI's recent win in the lawsuit refocuses 100% of our energies to our

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business going forward. We anticipate our operating expenses will more
appropriately reflect our operating model by the third quarter, and that the
company is tracking to reach its goal of profitability by the fourth quarter
2003."

INVESTOR CONFERENCE CALL

STI will host an investor conference call today at 2:00 p.m. pacific time, April
10, 2003. The call will be accessible live by dialing (877)-817-7170. A 48-hour
replay will be available by dialing (888) 266-2081, passcode 6477391. The call
will also be simultaneously webcast and available on STI's web site at
http://www.suptech.com.

ABOUT SUPERCONDUCTOR TECHNOLOGIES INC.

Superconductor Technologies Inc., headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, is the
global leader in developing, manufacturing, and marketing superconducting
products for wireless networks. STI's SuperLink(TM) Solutions are proven to
increase capacity utilization, lower dropped and blocked calls, extend coverage,
and enable higher wireless transmission data rates. SuperFilter(R), the
company's flagship product in the SuperLink Rx product line, incorporates
patented high-temperature superconductor (HTS) technology to create a cryogenic
receiver front-end (CRFE) used by wireless operators to enhance network
performance while reducing capital and operating costs.

      More than 2,000 SuperFilter Systems have been shipped worldwide, logging
in excess of 25 million hours of cumulative operation. In 2002, STI was named
one of Deloitte & Touche's prestigious "Technology Fast 50" companies for the
Los Angeles area, a ranking of the 50 fastest-growing technology companies in
the area.

      SuperFilter and SuperLink are trademarks or registered trademarks of
Superconductor Technologies Inc. in the United States and in other countries.
For information about STI, please visit www.suptech.com.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

The press release contains forward-looking statements made in reliance upon the
safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, STI's views on
future profitability, commercial revenues, market growth, capital requirements
and new product introductions, and are generally identified by phrases such as
"thinks," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "expects," "intends," "plans,"
and similar words. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future
performance and are inherently subject to uncertainties and other factors which
could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking
statements. These factors and

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uncertainties include: STI's ability to expand its operations to meet
anticipated product demands; the ability of STI's products to achieve
anticipated benefits for its customers; the anticipated growth of STI's target
markets; unanticipated delays in shipments to customers; and STI's ability to
achieve profitability. STI refers interested persons to its most recent Annual
Report on Form 10-K and its other SEC filings for a description of additional
uncertainties and factors that may affect forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are based on information presently available to
senior management, and STI has not assumed any duty to update any
forward-looking statements.

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