On 11 August 2004 BÖWE SYSTEC AG reached an agreement with its North American partners at BÖWE Bell + Howell, USA, to increase its holdings from 50% to 60% at the beginning of 2005. The remaining shares currently held by Glencoe Capital are to be acquired in annual increments of 10%.

This agreement builds on the momentum started when BÖWE SYSTEC acquired 50% of Bell + Howell in December of 2002. The resulting product line and services provides customers with the best of both former companies and established BÖWE SYSTEC as the worldwide market share leader for high volume document processing.

This new agreement accelerates the integration of BÖWE Bell + Howell with BÖWE SYSTEC AG. This provides a clear indication of the direction for BÖWE Bell + Howell, as well as a long-term commitment to our customers through ownership structure exclusively committed to our industry said John Lombard, President of BÖWE Bell + Howell Document Processing Solutions. The North American market continues to be a strategically important part of our global strategy. By more quickly integrating BÖWE Bell + Howell, we can accelerate many of our strategic growth initiatives said Dr. Claus Gerckens, CEO of BÖWE SYSTEC.

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About BÖWE SYSTEC AG

Headquartered in Augsburg, Germany, BÖWE SYSTEC AG is an ISO-9001 provider of high performance automated mailing solutions. Product offerings include high-speed stand-alone continuous forms cutters, intelligent high-speed and mid-range inserting systems, and automated plastic card solutions. BÖWE SYSTEC's modular design philosophy provides customers with the highest level of solution flexibility and ease of upgradability for future growth. For more information on BÖWE SYSTEC AG, please visit www.boewe-systec.de.

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About BÖWE BELL + HOWELL

Headquartered in Wheeling, Ill., BÖWE BELL + HOWELL, a company with more than 70 years of industry experience, is a leading provider of high-performance document management solutions and services. The company's portfolio of inserting, sorting, plastic card, integrity, cutting, packaging, print-on-demand and software solutions is the most comprehensive product offering for paper-based and digital mail communications. These solutions are supported by one of the largest dedicated service organizations in the industry.

For further information on BÖWE BELL + HOWELL, please visit www.bowebellhowell.com.