Locus releases eWell on Symbol units

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., 1 January 2002 — Locus Technologies (Locus), a global leader in environmental information management, announced today that they have released a new version of eWell, a PDA- and Internet-based application for recording water level data in the field. As part of its joint application development and marketing partnership with Symbol Technologies, Locus has committed to making all of its hand-held applications compatible with Symbol mobile computing devices. This new version of eWell, which runs on Symbol units, represents the first step toward this eventual goal.

eWell consists of two components: a standalone application which resides on the Symbol devices and a web-based module for uploading, downloading, and reviewing data. It can be used either as an independent application or in conjunction with LocusFocus(SM), Locus’s environmental web portal. Users of eWell download route and historical water level information from the web onto their Symbol units. In the field, the Symbol units are used to record water level and other field readings as well as to compare current with past values. Users can also take advantage of the bar-coding capabilities of the Symbol devices to record well location and measuring equipment information.

Back in the office, data collected in the field is uploaded onto the web through cradle synchronization or wireless synchronization using Symbol units equipped with wireless technology, such as the Palm™-powered SPT 1800 series. Data is then reviewed for accuracy and completeness. After all checks have been completed, readings are moved to Locus’s Environmental Information Management™ (EIM™) web-based database. This database can serve as the sole repository for this information, or firms can elect to download the data to their own corporate databases. eWell is currently being used on several large groundwater monitoring sites both in California and Nevada.

“The release of this new version of eWell delivers yet another powerful tool to Locus’s arsenal of web-based technologies designed to lower the cost of data collection and management at environmentally impacted sites,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO Locus Technologies.

 

ABOUT SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES
Symbol Technologies, Inc. is a global leader in mobile data transaction systems, providing innovative customer solutions based on wireless local area networking for data and voice, application-specific mobile computing and bar code data capture. Information about Symbol is available at www.symbol.com, or by telephone at (631) 738-2400 or (800) 722-6234.

Locus and STP Specialty Technical Publishers team up to provide PDA auditing tool

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, 13 September 2002 — Locus Technologies (Locus), a global leader in environmental information management, announced today that it has entered into a marketing partnership with STP Specialty Technical Publishers. The two companies will develop application software focusing on compliance, auditing, and data and information gathering and management for the environmental, waste management, and due diligence industries.

Locus initially intends to add checklists, guidelines, and other content developed by STP Specialty Technical Publishers to eSurvey, Locus’s integrated environmental health and safety (EH&S) auditing software tool used by auditors in the field to record deficiencies as they are noted, either directly into a Palm OS™- or Pocket PC™-based personal digital assistant (PDA) or a Symbol Technologies™ unit equipped with a bar code reader. eSurvey
is a module of LocusFocusSM, Locus Technologies’ award-winning, comprehensive environmental web portal.

The functionality of eSurvey is provided through three separate interfaces: the PDA interface, a web-based user interface, and a web-based management interface. After an audit or inspection is completed, results are uploaded into a holding table on a networked database. Through the user interface, auditors can review and, as necessary, modify their findings before final logging into the system. Managers can track deficiencies in their various areas and monitor progress in resolving issues, as well as comment and schedule re-audits through the web-based management interface. eSurvey also includes e-mailing and customized reporting capabilities. Through the web-based user interface, EH&S staff can also print customized reports and presentations.

“We are very pleased that, through this partnership, STP Specialty Technical Publishers content will be made available to our customers via eSurvey. Auditors will be able to access familiar STP Specialty Technical Publishers auditing checklists and guidance in the field, directly through eSurvey, thus significantly reducing the time to perform the audits, reducing errors, and eliminating double-input of audit information,” said Mr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus. “STP Specialty Technical Publishers content on eSurvey will be of particular interest to large industrial companies with numerous, complex industrial sites and those performing due diligence audits for Merger and Acquisition (M&A) industries,” added Duplancic.

“We are delighted to be able to offer our tried-and-tested compliance and auditing content in such an exciting new medium, and we look forward to working in partnership with Locus Technologies. While still producing our guides in the more traditional mediums we need to be at the cutting edge of technology in order to meet the needs of the entire compliance community,” says Chris Heming, president of STP Specialty Technical Publishers.

 

ABOUT STP SPECIALTY TECHNICAL PUBLISHERS
STP Specialty Technical Publishers, one of North America’s leading publishers of reference and interpretive materials, publishes environmental, health & safety, transportation, business management, and accounting guides, including International Standard Organization (ISO) guides. STP Specialty Technical Publishers publications are authored by experts in their respective fields who monitor changing laws and regulations to provide meaningful and practical updates. More information about the company can be obtained at www.stpub.com or by telephone at (604) 983-3434 or (800) 251-0381.

Locus and Symbol team up to help the environment

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 20 February 2002 — Locus Technologies (Locus), a global leader in environmental information management, announced today that the company has entered into a joint application development and marketing partnership with Symbol Technologies, Inc. (Symbol). Locus and Symbol plan to develop and provide application software and business solutions focusing on data and information gathering and management in the environmental and waste management industries.

Data acquisition, storage, and management have been the Achilles Heel of the environmental industry for years. The investigations and cleanups of contaminated waste sites produce enormous amounts of data on the nature and extent of contamination at a site. At larger, more complex sites, it is not uncommon to drill several thousand boreholes and wells, collect tens of thousands of samples, and then analyze each of these for several hundred contaminants. Long-term monitoring of conditions at such sites, even after the initial cleanup is complete, can last for decades and cost thousands to several million dollars per year per site. Given that there are an estimated 300,000-400,000 contaminated sites in the United States alone, it is clear that both industry and government face significant “stewardship” costs for decades to come, and that much of these costs will be charges related to data collection and information management.

The data overload is not just limited to contaminated waste sites. The operation of water/wastewater treatment plants and various emission and process monitoring systems at industrial plants also generate enormous quantities of data.

The Locus and Symbol partnership will enable the collection of environmental data which can be facilitated using Symbol Technologies hand-held devices equipped with bar code readers feeding information directly into LocusFocus (SM), Locus’s award winning environmental web-portal and environmental information management (EIM) system. Locus’s existing Palm Pilot and PocketPC applications for Environmental, Health and Safety audits (eSurvey) and water level readings (eWell) will be ported to Symbol devices. Possibilities for expansion of these applications into other areas are limitless.

“A substantial reward awaits those companies with the vision and the will to take advantage of new technologies. Those companies that adopt hand-held wireless applications and web-based systems for data acquisition and storage, that bring greater automation to their environmental information management processes, and that otherwise eliminate inefficiencies stand to gain a substantial return on their investment, “ said Mr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus.

“We are very pleased to join forces with Locus to bring the next generation of wireless and mobile computing products and solutions from Symbol to the growing environmental market.

Locus is in a leading role to improve field data collection. By automating field data acquisition, companies dealing with environmental problems stand to lower their operating cost, while helping to improve the environment at the same time,” said Mr. Stanley P. Jaworski, Vice President of Worldwide Channels and Alliances.

 

ABOUT SYMBOL TECHNOLOGIES
Symbol Technologies, Inc., winner of the National Medal of Technology, is a global leader in mobile data transaction systems, providing innovative customer solutions based on wireless local area networking for data and voice, application-specific mobile computing and bar code data capture. Symbol’s wireless information appliances connect the physical world of people on the move, packages, paper and shipping pallets, to information systems and the Internet. Today, some 10 million Symbol bar code scanners, mobile computers and wireless LANs are utilized worldwide in markets ranging from retailing to transportation and distribution logistics, manufacturing, parcel and postal delivery, government, healthcare and education. Symbol’s systems and products are used to increase productivity from the factory floor to the retail store, to the enterprise and out to the home. Information about
Symbol is available at www.symbol.com, or by telephone at (631) 738-2400 or (800) 722-6234.

Alstom and Locus announce strategic alliance agreement

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, AND STUTTGART, GERMANY, 31 January 2002 — Locus Technologies (Locus) and ALSTOM Power Environmental Consult, GmbH (ALSTOM Consult) announced today that the two companies will enter into a Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA). Locus provides comprehensive consulting, engineering, Internet-based remote control, automation, and information management services for the environmental market. ALSTOM Consult is a leading provider of services in the areas of compliance audits; permitting; storage tank management; environmental, health, and safety (EH&S) management; and all aspects of the investigation, assessment, and cleanup of contaminated sites.

The SAA primarily covers the area of advanced information technology in the environmental industry and will provide increased value to Locus’s and ALSTOM Consult’s industrial clients by formalizing and expanding the companies’ collaborative efforts on numerous environmental projects in Europe. Under the agreement, ALSTOM Consult will become a distributor and an operator of Locus’s award-winning, web-based suite of applications, LocusFocus(SM). This suite includes modules for: (1) automating, operating, and controlling process and treatment systems for water, groundwater, wastewater, air, and soil; (2) managing environmental data; (3) conducting site audits; (4) storing and retrieving documents; and (5) collaborating on-line. In addition to innovations in technology, Locus and ALSTOM Consult will also benefit from teaming on professional and technical environmental projects in Europe and North America.

“We are very pleased to formalize our existing and long-standing relationship with ALSTOM Consult. This agreement will help Locus better serve our European-based clients and will facilitate deployment of our web-based technologies in Europe. With ALSTOM Consult’s distributed network of offices throughout Europe, we can now extend our services to an important market for our company,” said Dr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus.

“ALSTOM Consult is very happy to start using and bringing Locus’s web technologies to the European market. We are also excited to expand our current relationship to provide value added technologies to existing and new markets in Europe and North America,” said Dr. Peter Rissing, Managing Director of ALSTOM’s environmental consulting business.

The European market for environmental goods and services is currently $149 billion and is expanding at the rate of approximately $4 billion dollars per year (California Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency, 2001). With Locus’s strong presence in North America and ALSTOM Consult’s high profile in Europe, the SAA is expected to bring significant benefits to both companies and their respective clients.
ABOUT ALSTOM
ALSTOM Power Environmental Consult is a recognized expert in environmental management services with an emphasis on contaminated land management, due diligence service in mergers and acquisitions, implementation of EH&S management systems, and ISO 14001, as well as occupational EH&S services. ALSTOM Power Environmental Consult is part of ALSTOM Power, which offers a range of boilers, energy recovery, and environmental equipment. ALSTOM has annual sales in excess of 22 billion euros and employs approximately 120,000 people in over 70 countries. The Company is listed on the Paris,London and New York stock exchanges. More information on ALSTOM can be found at www.alsto.com.

Locus Technologies announces hosting agreement with Intel® Online Services, Inc.

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., 23 March 2001 — Locus Technologies (Locus), a leader in environmental information management, today announced that they will host LocusFocus(TM), Locus’s environmental Application Service Provider (ASP) web portal, with Intel Online Services.

Locus will be using AppChoice(sm) Managed Hosting Service from Intel Online Services to provide optimal reliability, scalability and performance for LocusFocus. The LocusFocus portal includes remote control and monitoring of treatment systems, Environmental Information Management (EIM[TM]), and document management and collaboration tools. The EIM(TM) database is designed to manage the vast quantities of sampling, analytical and
geotechnical data that are typically collected during the investigation, cleanup and monitoring of contaminated sites.

“We chose Intel Online Services for the reliability of the Intel Online Services managed service offering,” said Mr. Neno Duplancic, president and chief executive officer of Locus.” By taking advantage of these capabilities, we can focus our attention to reducing costs in the environmental industry through the application of a centralized web-based system that Locus now offers.”

 

ABOUT INTEL ONLINE SERVICES
Intel Online Services, Inc., provides global Web services that manage the complexities of eBusiness computing. Intel Online Services uses integrated technologies and proven processes to deliver a range of Web services for optimal reliability, scalability and performance.

Locus advises Adtranz and Lucchini Group on sale of manufacturing facilities in United Kingdom and Sweden

PARIS, FRANCE AND WALNUT CREEK, CA., 17 November 2000 — Locus Technologies International, LLC (Locus), a fully owned subsidiary of Locus Technologies, today announced that they acted as environmental consultant to ADtranz and Lucchini Group for environmental due diligence and site investigation during sale of ADtranz Wheelset manufacturing facilities in Manchester, UK and Surahammar, Sweden to the Lucchini Group of Brescia, Italy. The ADtranz facilities being sold produce approximately 50,000 wheels and some 3,200 assembled wheelsets annually for various railway applications. Together, the ADtranz Wheelset plants have more than two centuries of experience in the production of wheels, with the first such activities dating back to 1866 in Surahammar and 1908 in Manchester. Locus performed fast-track field investigation at the Surahammar facility and supervised field investigation performed at the Manchester site. Locus also assisted in review of legal documents and insurance guarantees related to environmental liabilities.

“We are very pleased that Locus was selected to assist ADtranz and Lucchini with this important transaction,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus. “Locus was able to mobilize necessary resources in a short period of time and perform field investigation at manufacturing facilities that have been in operation over a century. This performance demonstrates our ability to provide excellent services to our clients around the globe on short notice. We are also pleased that Lucchini has expanded its relationship with Locus from environmental projects in France and Italy to include newly acquired sites in the UK and Sweden. We believe application of Locus’s award-winning Internet portal, LocusFocus™, to these environmental projects is a big reason for this expansion.”

The Lucchini Group, with 20 plants throughout Europe (10 in Italy, nine in France, and one in Poland), is a leader in the manufacturing of quality long-steel products. The Lucchini Group has annual revenues of 1.7 billion Euros. ADtranz is a leading global provider of railway services, systems, and rolling stock and operates under the legal name “DaimlerChrysler Rail Systems” and had 1999 total sales of 3.5 billion Euros.”

Locus Technologies awarded groundwater contract at Singer-Friden Site in San Leandro, Calif.

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., 24 May 2000 — Locus Technologies (Locus) today announced that they were awarded a contract for construction of the groundwater treatment system for the Singer-Friden site in San Leandro, CA.

The contract was awarded by URS Corporation of San Francisco, California, who designed the project under contract to the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC). The construction work to be performed by Locus is the final part of the clean up of solvents in the groundwater underneath the Singer-Friden site. These actions being taken were outlined in the Remedial Action Plan approved for the site in 1995. Locus’s scope of work includes completing the groundwater extraction well system, installing conveyance piping, constructing a fully automated groundwater treatment plant designed for remote operation, and startup and shakedown services.

“This is obviously an important win for us,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus Technologies. “It demonstrates our competitiveness and ability to provide the full range of services that are required for cleaning up contaminated groundwater. We are happy that our experience constructing advanced automated groundwater treatment
systems has allowed us to compete successfully for this major project at the DTSC-Singer-Friden site.” With this award, Locus reinforces its position as the nation’s leading provider of groundwater services. Locus is a pioneer in the use of Internet technologies to automate groundwater treatment and information management through their LocusFocusTM web portal.

Project execution will come jointly from Locus Technologies’ offices in Mountain View and Walnut Creek, California. The contract requires construction to be completed within 60 days. Construction is to begin immediately.

Locus Technologies announces formation of Locus Technologies International and the award of project to perform “Etude De Sol” studies in France

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., 10 May 2000 — Locus Technologies announced today the formation of Locus Technologies International, LLC, (LTI) a fully owned subsidiary of Locus Technologies, to focus on international markets. LTI has opened its first branch in Paris, France.

LTI, in partnership with ALSTOM Environmental Consult, S.A.R.L. of Paris, also announced today the award of a project to perform environmental assessment studies (Etude de Sol) under French regulatory framework for all Ascometal plants in France. Ascometal, a member of the Lucchini Group of companies from Brescia, Italy, is Europe’s largest producer of sheet metal. The Lucchini Group operates steel plants in Italy, France, and Poland.

“We are very excited to continue our relationship with the Lucchini Group and Ascometal, which started during 1999 environmental due diligence for acquisition of Ascometal plants by the Lucchini Group. Our client has realized the enormous potential of Locus Technologies’ Internet-based solutions for the environmental industry, and we are pleased to expand these services into the rapidly growing European environmental market,” said Dr. Neno Duplancic, president and CEO of Locus Technologies and LTI.

In addition to Part A and Part B soil studies required under French environmental laws, LTI will also apply its LocusFocusTM Internet-based technology to provide Ascometal with a comprehensive environmental portal to manage all aspects of their environmental program, such as document management, collaboration, and analytical information management.

Locus Technologies and CKM Consultants win environmental project in Singapore

WALNUT CREEK, Calif., 15 December 1999 — Locus Technologies (Locus) today announced that the company and CKM Consultants PTE LTD (CKM) of Singapore have been appointed consultants to the Singapore Ministry of Environment for sewerage and drainage services, based on their tender in which Locus Technologies had been included as CKM’s Associate Consultant. The appointment is for a contract of 5 years, and CKM may be called upon to provide services at any time during this period for any of the Singapore Ministry of Environment’s projects ranging between S$1,000,000 to S$20,000,000 ($0.6 to $12 million U.S. dollars). The consultancy is related to pumping station, sewage treatment plant, and replacement of equipment in sewage treatment works. Locus and CKM have worked together in the past.

“This is a very important win for CKM and Locus Technologies. It demonstrates the value of Locus’s environmental and Internet-based technologies in the highly competitive Southeast Asia environmental markets. The win provides entry for Locus to the Singapore market,” said Dr. Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus. “We are pleased that we will be working with Locus Technologies on this important project. Through partnership with Locus, CKM gets access to advanced U.S.-based environmental technologies,” said Dr. C.K. Murthy, Managing Director of CKM.

Locus Technologies completes due diligence of Ascometal plants in France

WALNUT CREEK, CA., 25 May 1999 — Usinor, the world’s second largest steelmaker, concluded an agreement on May 14, 1999, for the sale of Ascométal to the Italian steelmaker Lucchini S.p.A. Aster, the Usinor group’s wholly owned holding company for specialty steels businesses, will sell 100 percent of Ascométal and its Safe subsidiary to Lucchini. Locus Technologies (Locus) today announced that they acted as consultant to Lucchini S.p.A for environmental due diligence of Ascométal plants in France. Ascométal produces special long-steel products, and Safe is its forging subsidiary. Together, the two companies had 1998 net sales of 750 million euros, representing 7 percent of Usinor’s consolidated sales. Ascométal, with four electric furnace steel production units and four transformation and distribution facilities, sold 1.1 million metric tons of rolled long-steel products in 1998.

Lucchini SpA had consolidated sales of 990 million euros in 1998 and a production of approximately 2 million metric tons of rolled long-steel products. Lucchini is a European leader in the special long-products segment.

“This is obviously an important development for Locus,” said Neno Duplancic, President and CEO of Locus Technologies. “It demonstrates our competitive position and ability to provide due diligence and other environmental services in Europe. We are happy that our contribution to environmental due diligence helped close this important transaction for our client.” With this project, Locus continues its expansion into Europe.