RICHMOND, B.C., July 28, 2002

Progressive Solutions Inc., of Richmond BC, the leading supplier of business information software for the forest industry, is pleased to announce today that it has acquired UK-based Software Aspects Limited of Cheshire.

The company was acquired for two primary assets: first, its strong software development team who have extensive experience in the UK timber and building supplies distribution and trading industries; and second, for soon-to-be released software that manages the business operations of UK timber and building supply merchants.

“The development team is a phenomenal addition to our overall corporate experience and capabilities,” comments Len Williams, Progressive Solutions’ President and CEO. “They use the same advanced software development platforms we do in our Canadian development offices, so their products will readily integrate with and complement the other products we sell to the UK. They offer local support to UK customers. But, more importantly, the team brings our company an understanding of UK business practices and our target industries, which must be reflected in the business software we supply to the UK. They are strategically important in our deep commitment to serving the breadth of the UK and European timber and building supplies distribution marketplace.”

The new software, bisTrack™, will be launched in September 2002, with a series of seminars in London and Cheshire, and a product launch campaign in the UK trade media.

“We’re very excited about showing off our new software, because we know it fills a long-overdue need for up-to-date merchant business software,” comments Alan Hamilton, General Manager for Progressive Solutions’ UK operations. He explains: “Existing business software serving the UK distribution and trading industries is text-based and harder to use. Moreover, the older systems use older technologies and proprietary platforms, which makes interoperability more difficult. In contrast, our new software is built on modern platforms using open architecture. The developers drew on their extensive experience designing software for the timber and building supplies trading industries, and started fresh to develop software that makes use of modern technologies and capabilities. bisTrack is a refreshing offering to the UK market. It’s already attracting a lot of interest from the select customers to whom we’ve shown it.”

About Progressive Solutions Inc.
Progressive Solutions Inc. is the international leader in business software solutions for the forest products industry. Founded in 1989, the company is headquartered in Richmond, BC, and sales offices throughout the US, UK and Canada. Its products address the log procurement, sales, inventory and logistics management needs of Sawmill, Panel, Remanufacturing and Distribution and Wholesale industries for both domestic and export markets.