*NEWS*CLOVER BUYS RICOH’S DATAPRODUCTS

[Anonymous]

Clover Technologies
Group Acquires Dataproducts Supplies Division of Ricoh Printing Systems America.

OTTAWA,
Ill., Feb 05 — Clover Technologies Group, LLC (Clover) of Ottawa,
Illinois has acquired the North American and European compatible
printing supplies divisions of Ricoh Printing Systems America, Inc.,
manufacturer of Dataproducts and other compatible supplies
brands,effective February 1, 2005, as announced today by CEO Jim
Schiefelbein and President Jim Cerkleski. Bill Barclay, former
Executive Vice President of the supplies division, has been named
President of the new Dataproducts USA, LLC division of Clover.

World headquarters of Clover
Technologies Group is in Ottawa, Illinois, along with its manufacturing and
distribution facilities. Dataproducts division, with its western U.S.
distribution center, is located in Simi Valley, California with manufacturing in
Mexicali, Mexico and in Porto, Portugal. The three plants provide over 200,000
square feet of combined manufacturing capacity of printer, fax and copier
consumables.

“We are extremely
pleased the Dataproducts supplies organization is joining our Clover family,”
says Schiefelbein. “This merger is a major step in our long-term growth strategy
to become a worldwide leader in the supplies industry. Our customers will
benefit, because both our organizations share commitments to superior
engineering, quality manufacturing and extraordinary customer support. We will
operate three manufacturing plants with distribution hubs in the eastern and
western U.S., as well as in Europe.”

Adds Cerkleski, “Clover has grown rapidly over the past
four years to become one of the industry leaders by offering both original and
compatible printing supplies primarily to the office products channel and to
private brands. Dataproducts brand is an industry staple with over 40 years of
technical experience as a respected printer manufacturer. We expect Clover and
Dataproducts to operate as stand-alone divisions, except where obvious synergies
and economies of scale create more value for our collective customers.”

Clover is
listed for the third year in a row on Inc. Magazine’s 500 fastest growing U.S.
privately held companies in 2004 (#36). The company has grown at such an
accelerated rate by offering one of the industry’s largest imaging supply
product lines, which includes compatible toner and ink cartridges, as well as a
full line of original (OEM) supplies. Clover’s industry-recognized brand name is
Image Excellence(R), although its corporate strategy is as a private brand
manufacturer with many nationally known brands.

Bill
Barclay, who has headed the Dataproducts supplies group for twelve years, points
out that, in addition to being one of the largest compatible toner suppliers to
corporate America, Dataproducts brand of inkjet and ribbon supplies are the most
widely sold in the retail channel. The Dataproducts, Ink Station and
I-Print brands of compatible ink cartridges, ink cartridge refill kits and
printing ribbons are sold in a large variety of retail chains such as Sears,
Kmart, Staples and Target stores.

“We have
enjoyed long success as members of an original printer manufacturing company,”
says Barclay. “We became an industry leader first as an independent company,
then as a member of the Hitachi group of companies while maintaining our
Dataproducts brand equity. Recently, our parent company was sold to Ricoh
Company. We saw, however, that in order to continue our leadership as a
compatible printer supplies manufacturer, we needed to merge with a growing
organization that was truly focused on our industry. As a result, we are excited
to join with Clover Technologies, which we consider to be a dynamic company
aligned with our quality and business philosophies.”

[Author]

February 6, 2005 at 11:08 AM