STOCKHOLM, Sweden, March 16, 2001 (PRIMEZONE) -- Intentia International AB (publ) (XSSE:INT B) announced today that it has signed the final agreement to be Elkem's partner for implementing Elkem's e-business strategy. The contract is for one of the largest e-business projects ever started by a Group within Norwegian industry. "The Board has taken the position of investing NOK 100 million in the coming year alone," says Espen Falla, IT Director at Elkem.
Elkem initiated a comprehensive e-business pre-study project last summer. The project was completed in December and its results showed that Elkem's business processes can be redefined, be vastly improved, and made more effective via e-business. As a result of Elkem's endeavor to implement its e-business strategy, Intentia and Elkem can today announce an agreement on an e-business project that will extend over a period of 12 months. The agreement is comprised of NOK 40 million in software licenses and an initial NOK 60 million in consulting revenue for Intentia. Revenues from the project are expected to impact Intentia's results in the coming 12 months.
Elkem is one of Norway's largest industry groups and one of the leading suppliers of metals in the world. Elkem's main products are ferroalloys, aluminum, coal, and microsilica. The products are of significant importance for the manufacturing of a broad spectrum of products. Elkem supplies a number of industries, including the steel, chemical, electronic, and aluminum industries. Elkem has 4,000 employees and an annual turnover of more than NOK 10 billion. The Group is one of Norway's largest industrial groups and is traded on the Oslo Stock Exchange as well as the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
The project's purpose is to redo all of Elkem's global logistics. The goal is to increase delivery precision and customer satisfaction. Manual routines will be replaced by electronic processes. The project encompasses the production units, distribution chain, procurement processes as well as the sales and marketing units. After a careful pre-study, Elkem decided to replace its many different systems with Movex, Intentia's Java-based e-collaboration solution.
"Selecting Movex as the platform for our business-critical processes means that we are now going to simplify our IT infrastructure, thereby creating a more effective organization," comments Espen Falla, IT Director at Elkem.
For Intentia, the agreement with Elkem means strengthening its position as the leading supplier of solutions for e-collaboration in Norway. The deal also represents a breakthrough for and recognition of the Java version of Movex. Elkem will run the system in a Unix environment with Sun Solaris from Intentia's alliance partner Sun Microsystems. The size and scope of the project means that Intentia will have some thirty consultants involved in the project.
"Elkem selected Intentia after a highly professional and very careful analysis. This choice reflects the market's very high valuation of Intentia's solutions and collaboration," says Markus Jakobsson, Managing Director, Intentia Sweden and Norway.
About Elkem ASA
Elkem is one of the world's leading suppliers of metals and materials. Elkem has approximately 4,100 employees, of which approximately 3,000 are in Norway, as well as 26 wholly or partly owned companies/production plants in Europe, North and South America.
In addition, the company has a comprehensive network of sales offices and agents covering the most important markets in Europe and Asia. Elkem's main products are ferroalloys, silicon metal, aluminum, carbon, and microsilica. The products are essential in the manufacturing of a wide range of products needed in today's society. Elkem serves the steel, foundry, chemicals, electronics, and aluminum industries.
The Group is one of Norway's largest industrial companies, and is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Visit Elkem's website at www.elkem.no
About Intentia International AB (publ)
Over the past few years, Intentia International AB has concentrated on positioning itself to meet the demands it anticipated would arise from the new e-economy era. Intentia has developed its Movex product from a traditional ERP system to a complete e-collaboration solution that can manage all the demands of the new economy. Movex offers Intentia's customers the key to success, with its applications for customer relationship management (CRM), enterprise resource planning (ERP), supply chain planning & execution (SCPE), partner relationship management (PRM), business performance management (BPM) and e-business.
Intentia is well-positioned to respond to market needs when the "e" (electronic) evolves into "c" (collaboration), working hard to satisfy customers through its organization of more than 3,800 professionals serving in excess of 3,500 customers in over 40 countries around the world. Intentia is a public company traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange (XSSE) under the symbol INT B.