Kawasaki Construction Machinery Selects ARI's Suite of E-catalog Software and Services; Four-Year Exclusive Contract Marks ARI's Entry into Construction Industry

Business Wire, Oct 19, 2004

MILWAUKEE -- ARI (OTCBB:ARIS), a leading provider of electronic parts catalogs and related technology and services to increase sales and profits for dealers in the manufactured equipment markets, announced today that Kawasaki Construction Machinery Corp. of America of Kennesaw, GA has selected ARI's EMPARTweb(TM) and PartSmart(TM) CD-ROM based electronic parts catalogs for use by their independent dealers. In addition, ARI will work with 4CS, Kawasaki's provider of warranty applications, to integrate both EMPARTweb and PartSmart to their application. Kawasaki Construction is a U.S. subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kobe, Japan.

Under the exclusive, four-year agreement, Kawasaki has licensed EMPARTweb to provide on-demand access to its parts and service catalogs (called "K-TIPS") by their independent dealers. Kawasaki also initially licensed ARI's CD-based parts catalog, PartSmart, for use in dealerships or service repair trucks by its network of independent dealers. ARI and Kawasaki are currently working together to publish Kawasaki Construction's first PartSmart and EMPARTweb catalog which will include parts, operation, and service manuals for 40 models/generations as well as over 2,000 service bulletins. Following the deployment of the first catalog, Kawasaki will provide catalog updates twice per year.

"Kawasaki was looking for a new vendor who would partner with us to improve our online parts and service information," said Wayne Powell, Senior Manager, Service & Training for Kawasaki. "In addition, we needed a solution that would not only help increase use of an electronic parts catalog provided to our dealers, for use at dealerships or on remote repair trucks, but improve customer satisfaction," added Powell. "ARI's PartSmart and EMPARTweb are exactly what we were looking for. ARI is supplying a product that loads faster, contains more information, and integrates a CD-ROM based product at a reasonable price. We are confident that our partnership with ARI will prove to be beneficial to Kawasaki, our dealers and our end customers," concluded Powell.

"We welcome this opportunity to work with Kawasaki Construction to help them meet their goals," said Brian E. Dearing, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ARI. "Kawasaki's selection of ARI over their current provider is a testament to the strength and value that our family of catalog services and products brings to customers. We are confident that Kawasaki's dealers will embrace the decision to move to PartSmart and EMPARTweb and will quickly adopt both of these powerful tools," added Dearing. "We fully expect that Kawasaki's dealers will experience the same improved service, increased productivity and reduced costs experienced by manufacturers in other industries, including outdoor power, power sports and recreation vehicle," added Dearing. Dearing indicated that ARI's suite of catalog services and products includes PartSmart, EMPARTweb, EMPARTpublisher(TM) and EMPARTviewer(TM).

About Kawasaki Construction Machinery Corp. of America

Georgia-based Kawasaki Construction Machinery Corp. of America, a subsidiary of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, LTD (Kawasaki), is a leading supplier of a full range of high-quality wheel loaders. Kawasaki is the oldest ongoing manufacturer of rubber-tired wheel loaders in the world. With over 40 years of proven performance history, Kawasaki wheel loaders have continually evolved to bring customers the best equipment and support services, backed by a carefully selected dealer network. For more information on Kawasaki Construction Machinery, visit www.Kawasakiloaders.com.

About ARI

ARI is a leading provider of e-Catalog business solutions for sales, service and life-cycle product support in the manufactured equipment market. ARI currently provides approximately 78 parts catalogs (many of which contain multiple lines of equipment) for approximately 60 equipment manufacturers in the U.S. and Europe. More than 88,000 catalog subscriptions are provided through ARI to more than 27,000 dealers and distributors in more than 100 countries in a dozen segments of the worldwide manufactured equipment market including outdoor power, power sports, recreation vehicle, floor maintenance, auto and truck parts aftermarket, marine and construction. The Company builds and supports a full suite of multi-media electronic catalog publishing and viewing software for the Web or CD and provides expert catalog publishing and consulting services. ARI also provides dealer marketing services, including technology-enabled direct mail and a template-based dealer website service that makes it quick and easy for an equipment dealer to have a professional and attractive website. In addition, ARI e-Catalog systems support a variety of electronic pathways for parts orders, warranty claims and other transactions between manufacturers and their networks of sales and service points. ARI currently operates three offices in the United States and one in Europe and has sales and service agents in Australia, England and France providing marketing and support of its products and services.