Blount, Inc. to Rely on 4CS iWarranty Software

EAST MOLINE, Ill., May 1, 2006 -- 4CS, the leading provider of intelligent warranty management software, today announced that the Forestry and Industrial Equipment Division of Blount, Inc. has licensed iWarranty software to help manage warranty processes and improve customer satisfaction and product quality while reducing warranty costs.

Richard A. Planisek, Blount Forestry Vice President Product Support, noted: "With our companies' growth, we needed the ability to process additional warranty claims with our current staff. In addition, Blount strives to produce the highest quality machines in our industry and real time quality data for our engineers was also an important factor in our decision.

"Dealers have been requesting an automated process; a web-based system, for warranty claims and the iWarranty system will provide that system. Dealers will also like the real time status of claim tracking and credits. We fully expect iWarranty to help drive enhanced dealer and customer satisfaction."

Mr. Planisek said: "We believe iWarranty will reduce the total cycle time required to process warranty claims, which will result in cost savings and improved vendor recovery. We believe that the system will allow us to integrate with our vendors and provide us the ability to not only process additional vendor/supplier claims but leverage our supplier's knowledge to utilize our warranty data to drive component quality improvement. Our end customers will end up with more durable forestry equipment."

Craig Harper, Blount Warranty Project Manager, noted, "The 4CS personnel did not promise us the world; they shared openly and honestly about what we could expect and not expect in terms of product capability, processes and services. We checked with their customers and found they were dedicated and diligent in delivering their implementation."

When asked why he selected iWarranty over competitive solutions, Rich shared: "iWarranty had the most comprehensive package along with a staff of professionals with direct warranty industry experience. 4CS understands our distribution model and the relationship between a dealer and an OEM. 4CS' iWarranty Lifecycle Management solution was the best product of the five vendors we researched and the experience of knowing OEM/dealer warranty, ease of use and ability to manage the system in-house were reasons we selected iWarranty." Brenda Woods, IT Manager, shared, "Some were less expensive but would have taken years to get to the level of functionality that iWarranty already has 'out of the box'. iWarranty was clearly the best value -- the best fit for our processes and related systems."

Gene Weber, 4CS Relationship Manager, noted, "Blount, Inc. has long been a significant player in the forestry industry and is committed to growing their business with industry leading partner Caterpillar. iWarranty, the industry's leading warranty lifecycle management software will support their continuing success!"

Blount, Inc.:

Blount, Inc. was founded in 1946 and was incorporated in the state of Delaware in 1971. Today, Blount International, Inc. is a diverse, high- performing industrial company consisting of three business segments: The Outdoor Products Group, the Industrial and Power Equipment Group, and the Lawnmower Group. These segments operate worldwide and manufacture and distribute products in over 100 countries around the world. Headquartered in Zebulon, North Carolina, the Forestry and Industrial Equipment Division of Blount, Inc. is a major manufacturer of timber harvesting equipment under the PRENTICE, HYDRO-AX, CTR and FABTEK brand names. In addition, they recently began marketing forestry equipment under the CATERPILLAR brand name as well. The Division maintains manufacturing facilities in Prentice, Wisconsin, Owatonna, Minnesota and Menominee, Michigan. Corporate Headquarters for Blount, Inc. is in Portland, Oregon.

  For more information, visit http://www.blount.com/ .

  About 4CS:

4CS is the leading provider of warranty software solutions. 4CS iWarranty software helps reduce the warranty cost of the products significantly by improving the quality and reliability of the products, sharing the cost and information with suppliers and business partners along with automating the warranty management processes.

For more information, visit http://www.4cs.com/ or call 800.709.8773.