WhereNet's Locatable Active RFID Technology Approved as a Global Standard by Leading Luxury Automaker

German Automobile Manufacturer to Double WhereNet Deployments in 2005 as Worldwide Rollout Continues; Vehicle Location System Enhances Flexibility and Expedites Production of Custom-Ordered, Premium-Brand Automobiles

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 20 -- WhereNet Corp., the leader of wireless solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, announced today that the BMW Group has approved the WhereNet(R) active RFID real-time locating system (RTLS) technology as a global standard and will accelerate its worldwide rollout in 2005. Already installed at BMW plants in Dingolfing, Munich, and Regensburg, Germany, WhereNet's vehicle location system will go live this year at additional BMW plants in Leipzig, Germany and Rosslyn, South Africa, and at the MINI plant in Oxford, United Kingdom.

"While other industries are just starting to understand the ability of RFID to transform business processes, the automotive industry has been using active RFID applications for several years with great success," said Joshua Greenbaum, principal, Enterprise Applications Consulting. "Whether included in new plants or integrated into established factories, WhereNet's active RFID-based applications are being used by many of the world's leading automotive manufacturers to enable more flexible business processes, support lean manufacturing initiatives, expedite throughput, and realize significant labor and inventory savings."

Real-Time Visibility Streamlines Production

The BMW Group plants use WhereNet's vehicle location system to locate any one of the new vehicles that come off the assembly line each day. With such real-time visibility to every vehicle parked anywhere across the factory premises, BMW is able to improve customer satisfaction by expediting delivery of every custom ordered vehicle.

The WhereNet real-time locating system infrastructure consists of WhereLAN(TM) locating access points that provide complete coverage of all monitored areas, WherePort(TM) devices that "detect" when a vehicle enters or departs a particular work area, and WhereTag(TM) active RFID transmitters that are programmed to transmit once every four minutes. An assembly line operator affixes a temporary WhereTag, associated with the vehicle identification number to every car as it rolls off the assembly line. The system provides constant connectivity to any "tagged" vehicle -- whether inside the factory or parked outside.

If BMW's Assembly Finish System calls up a vehicle for finishing, an employee can find its location in real time on the intranet via a Web browser as the application graphically displays the location of every car in the plant. When each new vehicle is declared ready for shipping, the WhereTag is removed and "recycled" so that it can be associated with another new vehicle on the assembly line.

"Challenged by globalization and outsourcing, automotive manufacturers must foster a culture of innovation and leverage best-of-breed technologies to help achieve on-time delivery of custom-ordered, premium brand automobiles," said Matt Armanino, senior vice president of corporate development for WhereNet. "Through our innovative wireless vehicle location systems, the days of sending a team of workers to search for a vehicle are over -- they simply click on a screen and see the exact location of every car in the plant. Such real-time systems bring additional flexibility to OEM production processes and ensure that every customer receives his or her tailor-made vehicle on time and with the highest quality expected."

About WhereNet Corp.

WhereNet is the first company to deliver a single wireless location and communication infrastructure that reliably and cost-effectively manages valuable mobile resources and delivers a complete return on investment within 6-12 months. Based on patented, standards-compliant technology resulting from a collective 100+ years of development, the WhereNet real-time solutions enable companies such as BMW, Ford Motor Company, and NYK Logistics to reduce inventory, lower operating costs, and improve operations. The company has received the Henry Ford Technology Award; was recognized for strong ROI by Computerworld; was ranked among the top 10 in the InfoWorld 100; and has been recognized as a wireless innovator by Forrester Research, Computerworld ROI, Frontline Solutions, Plant Engineering, and Supply Chain Systems magazines. Headquartered in Santa Clara, California, with offices throughout the United States and Europe, WhereNet is funded by Crosspoint Venture Partners, Foundation Capital, Bay Partners, Crescendo Ventures, and Sun Microsystems. For more information, visit the WhereNet Web site at www.wherenet.com, or call 408-845-8500 (in the U.S.) or +32-3-286-84-50 (in Europe).

NOTE: WhereNet is a registered trademark and WhereTag is a trademark of WhereNet Corp. All other brands, products, or service names are or may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.