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Softlab, a BMW Group Company, Locates HQ in S.C.

10 March 2000

Softlab, a BMW Group Company, Locates HQ in S.C.

    GREENVILLE, S.C., March 9 Softlab, a Munich-based BMW
Group company that provides technology integration solutions for business
applications to companies worldwide, is locating its North American
headquarters in South Carolina near BMW's only U.S. factory.
    Softlab executives announced today at a news conference that its new
headquarters will be in Greenville in the state's Upstate region.
    The company, which has had its headquarters in Atlanta since 1992, is a
leading information technology consulting and systems integration firm
focusing on enterprise-wide information management.
    Softlab employs more than 1,600 people at operations in Austria, Belgium,
France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, Spain,
Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
    "We believe the strategic location and economic climate in Upstate South
Carolina will contribute most effectively to the growth of Softlab, Inc.,"
said President & CEO Thomas Bonn.  "In fact, it is our goal to grow our
business so that our staff will double each year for the foreseeable future."
    "Because we are a BMW Group company, we will have a close working
relationship with BMW Manufacturing Corp. and its numerous suppliers in South
Carolina and throughout North America.  The opportunity for developing
synergies will be substantial," Bonn said.
    Softlab offers comprehensive consulting and development services to
business in the areas of information and communication systems, process
automation and software development tools.  It works with its clients in
manufacturing and service industries to integrate their systems and improve
their competitive edge.
    In addition to its activities within the BMW Group, Softlab works with
companies in banking, insurance, manufacturing, telecommunications and
information technology industries.  Softlab clients include Bank of America,
Allianz, American Reinsurance, Barclays Bank, Citibank, Principal Financial
Group and Vodafone.  The Greenville location will be Softlab's base for
delivery of Customer Relationship Management and Supply Chain Management
solutions.
    Softlab assists clients in managing information throughout their
organizations through use of its Enabler blue family of solutions that act as
the technological backbone for enterprise-wide change and configuration
management.  The company extended its market presence when it became a SAP
systems integrator through acquiring LOT Consulting.
    BMW Group operations in the U.S. include its South Carolina factory --
home of the Z3 roadsters and coupes, and the new X5 sports activity vehicle;
sales and marketing management for the BMW and Land Rover brands in Woodcliff
Lake, New Jersey; financial services in Dublin, Ohio; a consumer products
design studio in California; an information technology consulting and systems
integration firm in South Carolina; and various other logistics operations
throughout the country.