ELSA Establishes Subsidiary in Japan

German computer graphics and data communications manufacturer to expand into Japanese market

SANTA CLARA, CA – December 3, 1997 -- ELSA AG, a leading manufacturer of high-quality computer graphics and data communications products, today announced that it has set up a local subsidiary in Japan. As a part of its global sales and marketing strategy, the company opened offices in Tokyo and Osaka, the Japanese headquarters being in Tokyo.

Founded in 1980, ELSA is known in the IT industry for offering high-end 3D graphics accelerators, graphics boards for the home and entertainment market, color monitors from 17" to 24"; ISDN adapters, high-speed modems and videoconferencing solutions. With its headquarters in Aachen, the company has a reputation of providing high-quality, reliable products, which are all engineered in Germany.

Having set up its first subsidiary in California six years ago, ELSA’s global growth and expansion strategy lead the company to Asia. ELSA Asia Inc. was established as a subsidiary in Taipei, Taiwan, at the beginning of this year, and the set-up of ELSA Japan Inc. is now the company’s answer to the increasing demand for Windows NT^®-based workstations with high-end graphics accelerators as well as German-engineered ISDN technology in Japan.

"Our new subsidiary in Japan will handle all sales and marketing issues locally as part of our 'think globally, act locally' strategy. In addition, ELSA Japan Inc. will offer local customer and ISV support," says Theo Beisch, President and CEO of ELSA AG. "This is a definite advantage for our Japanese OEM partners in the professional Windows NT^®-based workstation market as well as for our distribution channels in Japan. Above all, Japan is a major growth market to ELSA."

T.J. Namaritani, President of ELSA Japan Inc., has a deep knowledge of the IT and especially the CAD/CAM industry. His 32-year professional carreer lead him from Marubeni Electronics to positions as President and then Chairman of Intergraph Japan K.K. to ELSA.

" With ELSA's long experience in the development of high-end graphics products, I am convinced that ELSA Japan Inc. will contribute to increase ELSA's market share globally. Our outstanding support and excellent ISV partnerships will be major success factors for our customers," says T.J. Namaritani.

Masashi Nemoto will start as vice-president of ELSA Japan Inc. With his excellent technical background as R&D manager at Intergraph Japan K.K., he is an expert in the high-end CAD/CAM systems market.

The German parent company consists of four business units for Graphics Systems, Multimedia, Consumer Communications, and Communications Systems, all of which offer innovative products and services for the growing PC market. The company has 450 employees and 1996 revenues of US$ 134 million. ELSA has developed a strong position in the OEM and distribution channels throughout Europe and North America. ELSA Japan Inc. has the objective to develop these channels in the Japanese market.

ELSA Inc. is a subsidiary of ELSA AG, a stock company based in Aachen, Germany. Founded in 1980, ELSA has built a world-class reputation in high-performance 2D and 3D graphics solutions in addition to a wide ranging ISDN and videoconferencing product family.

ELSA is a trademark of ELSA Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks previously cited are hereby acknowledged and recognized.

# # #