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ZoneTrader Rolls Out Proprietary Program Designed to Effectively Manage Surplus Assets & Equipment for Major U.S. Companies

    MINNEAPOLIS--March 26, 2001--

Program Helps Corporations Reduce Inefficiencies, Discover Cost Savings

    Surplus assets - there are an estimated $60 billion in the United States - can either be redeployed, sold or remain a drag on your bottom line. ZoneTrader, a full-service surplus asset management and disposition company, is introducing a program that can help major corporations optimize the way they use capital assets. ZoneTrader is adopting a leadership position in taking the fundamental principles and discipline of supply chain management and applying them to asset chain management. By identifying surplus assets a company can optimize asset utilization, avoid unnecessary capital expenditures and maximize ROA and ROI.
    "One of the best ways to get the most out of every asset you have is to find ways that equipment can be redistributed or turned into cash," said David Gigerich, chairman and chief executive officer of ZoneTrader. "ZoneTrader has the proven platform to do this."
    ZoneTrader's Surplus Asset Management (SAM) program is a Web-based utility hosted at a customer's Intranet site. It allows companies to identify and manage surplus assets across their entire organizations, avoiding the cost of new equipment through redeployment to other parts of the organization. SAM also helps minimize idle asset carrying costs such as insurance, taxes and warehouse space. If a company no longer needs a particular asset, it then goes to ZoneTrader's outside marketplace, where it is disposed of in the most efficient manner. This maximizes the monetary value of that asset. The company has piloted the program with clients such as Delphi Automotive Systems and Ocean Spray.
    According to a recent study of Global 1000 executives conducted by AMR Research Inc., respondents cited streamlining/reducing costs, improving customer relations and increasing company revenue as the primary drivers for companies' investments in e-business and supporting technologies in 2001. ZoneTrader's robust reporting systems have shown significant cost savings and return on investment for pilot SAM clients.

    SAM works like this:

    1. ZoneTrader industry and valuation experts perform plant audits
    to identify idle assets and standardize the way asset
    information is collected.

    2. Surplus assets are redeployed internally, facilitated by
    ZoneTrader's sophisticated Web-based proprietary technology
    that makes clients' surplus assets visible through their
    entire organization on a secured site.

    3. Real-time reporting capabilities and extensive quarterly
    reports enable senior finance executives to easily and
    efficiently track asset utilization.

    4. ZoneTrader seamlessly transfers assets that are not redeployed
    internally to its public marketplace or to its multiple
    disposal channels on behalf of its clients.

    5. SAM includes client training and marketing expertise to ensure
    that the organization is adopting and using the program
    effectively and to maximize its benefits.

    SAM customers contract with ZoneTrader on an annual basis. Further information about ZoneTrader's SAM program is available at 1-877-982-7776.

    About ZoneTrader

    ZoneTrader is a leading full-service surplus asset management and disposition provider. The company partners with Global 1000 companies to develop and maintain strategic and systematic asset recovery processes, meeting tight timelines for disposition and optimizing asset utilization. ZoneTrader specializes in working with companies in the automotive, food processing and petrochemical industries. Customers include Ford Motor Company, The Dow Chemical Company, Sprint, BP Amoco and others. For more information, visit ZoneTrader's Web site at www.zonetrader.com, call 763-543-5288 or send your request by e-mail to info@zonetrader.com.