Transend appointed distributor of Escher Group postal products 

Transend Worldwide Limited to offer Escher's award-winning WebRiposte™ products for post office counter automation

Boston, Mass. - May 26, 2004 - Escher Group Ltd and Transend Worldwide Limited, a subsidiary of New Zealand Post, today announced that they have entered into a distribution agreement to sell and service Escher's products. Transend will be designated as an Escher Preferred Distributor.

"Transend has a proven track record of managing complex strategic initiatives and practical operational programs and has earned a reputation for being able to assist other postal organizations." said an Escher spokesperson. He added: "Escher Group is very pleased to be working with the Transend team."

Escher's products are currently licensed to 20 postal authorities worldwide, and support a full range of services from postal transactions to retail sales, bill payments, banking and government services. Escher Group's postal counter automation solution, Essential, is a standards-based, transaction management environment and application framework. It enables the rapid development, distribution, and management of secure, high-performance applications across distributed, multi-channel networks. Essential is built on the proven WebRiposte transaction-processing platform. Its unique XML-based messaging model enables postal networks of all sizes and in the most remote geographic locations to easily and securely automate services.

Transend has provided consultancy and products to many of the world's postal authorities, in Europe, Africa, Asia and beyond. They are involved in a growing and diverse range of assignments around the world, providing not only recognized consulting expertise, but also supply, install and maintain a portfolio of modern systems and products. Their specialty is in consulting on operational excellence and business performance related to the areas of delivery, processing and retail.

Bruce Heesterman, General Manager of Transend Worldwide Limited added, "Adding Escher's WebRiposte products to our portfolio will enable Transend to provide the leading postal counter automation solution to our customers. Transend's postal expertise, combined with Escher will be a winning combination."

About Transend Worldwide, Limited
Transend is a wholly owned subsidiary of New Zealand Post. It's track record of managing complex strategic initiatives through to practical operational programmes has, over the years, earned Transend a reputation for being able to assist other postal organisations to reach their full potential. Transend has an extensive international track record, including assisting postal organisations as diverse as in the United Kingdom, South Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Malta, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana.

 

About Escher Group, Limited

Escher Group Limited is a leading provider of distributed transaction processing and data management solutions and services. The company offers a business-to-business XML-based transaction management environment, used in thousands of locations worldwide. Since its introduction in 1993, Riposte®, Escher's flagship messaging solution, has grown to become the market leader in post office counter automation.

Trademarks: WebRiposte and Riposte are trademarks or registered trademarks of Escher Group, Limited in the United States and/or other countries. All other product names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.