Press Release

Siemens Computer Systems to provide leading tile company with complete
back-office solution 

� will support electronic trading and allow remote access to financial
information  

The Yorkshire Tile Company, one of the UK's largest independent ceramic tile
distributors, has ordered a complete back-office solution from Siemens
Computer Systems to handle all aspects of sales and purchase order
processing and accounting. Two Siemens PRIMERGY servers will be connected to
25 Siemens PCs across the company's four sites to enable remote station
access to financial information, eliminating the need to update PCs at
branches and providing time and cost savings. The solution will also support
Internet and Intranet links, enabling The Yorkshire Tile Company to trade
electronically. 

The order was placed through Siemens partner - TRACLINE (UK) Limited - who
will also provide business software, configuration of the operating systems,
installation and training. The solution comprises a PRIMERGY 470 server with
RAID and a PRIMERGY workgroup server, connected to the Siemens PCs across a
Wide Area Network. The Yorkshire Tile Company is replacing standalone PCs
and dumb terminals linked to a central processor.

"Over the past seven years, The Yorkshire Tile Company has expanded from a
single branch to multi-branches - the technology from Siemens and TRACLINE
is supporting this expansion and facilitating future growth," commented Eric
Nichols, Chairman of The Yorkshire Tile Company. "When we decided to replace
our existing system, we drew up an extensive checklist and of the four
packages examined, only one met the necessary criteria - the combination of
Siemens hardware and TRACLINE operational software. 

"Importantly, our four sites will have access at the terminal to the
PRIMERGY server, and this will replace the need to update standalone PCs at
branches. Not only will this save precious time, but it will also mean that
crucial financial information is instantly available to staff at our stores.
The complete solution will also enable us to trade electronically, maintain
a Web presence and trade in euros - taking us well into the next century,"
Eric Nichols added. 

The Siemens hardware will provide a platform for TRACLINE Relativity and
Sage Accounting. This will enable Internet and Intranet links; open database
connectivity; report generator; automatic Intrastat entries and reports;
dual purchasing price facility for euro; forecasting and budgeting by
product class, customer and expense account.

Siemens PRIMERGY servers deliver the highest levels of availability and are
an ideal platform for applications such as e-commerce, SAP R/3, data
warehousing and ISP hosting. The range includes the PRIMERGY 170 workgroup
server, which offers enterprise class management and availability at an
affordable price; the PRIMERGY 470 and 670 which provide excellent
expandability and can be clustered with all leading server operating
systems, and the PRIMERGY 870 Enterprise Server with Intel Pentium III Xeon
processors which supports thousands of users. PRIMERGY servers feature the
industry's widest range of fault-immunity features, including unique
hot-swap PCI cards, tape drives and CD-ROMs under Windows NT.

The Yorkshire Tile Company Limited began trading in 1975. It operates as a
Ceramic Tile Distributor and each of its branches has Trade Counters and
Retail Showrooms. The Yorkshire Tile Company's head office is in Sheffield
and it has branches in Doncaster, Leeds and Newcastle. The company employs
48 staff and has a turnover in excess of 
�6 million.

TRACLINE (UK) Limited was established in 1984 to introduce businesses of all
sizes to the benefits of computerisation. In 1991, TRACLINE began a
relationship with Siemens. Siemens was chosen because of its ability to
supply a range of hardware and EPoS systems.

Siemens Computer Systems offers the industry's broadest range of computer
systems from a single supplier, ranging from notebook, desktop and
Intel-based server systems to a full range of UNIX and mainframe-based
enterprise servers. 

On 1 October 1999, the company will merge its European operations with
Fujitsu Computers (Europe) Ltd to create a new computer company, Fujitsu
Siemens Computers. Operating Europe-wide to serve consumer and corporate
markets with a full range of IT platforms, the new company will immediately
become the second largest provider of computer systems to the European
market and is aiming for the number one position in 2001.

For further editorial information 
please contact:
                Rebecca Hartley
                Press Relations, Siemens Computer Systems
                Direct Line:  01252 555396
                Email: [email protected]

                For sales, support and other enquiries please contact:
                Siemens Computer Systems Customer Helpdesk
                Tel: 01252 555300
                Internet:  http://www.siemens.co.uk/cs