Sefas Innovation’s "Open Print" functionality is available within Kern’s "Orchestra" product suite Columbus, OH and Paris – October 24, 2002 -- Kern International and Sefas Innovation today announced the formation of a strategic alliance to include Sefas’ Open Print software products as components of Kern’s "Orchestra" solution suite. Kern’s Orchestra solution suite, when combined with Kern inserters, offers a broad range of capabilities such as advanced document tracking and reporting, individual mailpiece validation, and postal manifest reporting and reconciliation. Sefas’ Open Print suite offers advanced document composition and re-engineering, factory management and document production infrastructure functions, independent of protocol, platform or input. The move comes as high volume mailers search for technologies that that can help them simultaneously bolster efficiencies, improve integrity, and strengthen their document production capabilities. As more companies implement Automated Document Factory (ADF) solutions, Kern and Sefas are uniquely qualified to offer best in class hardware and software solutions to their customers. Kern and Sefas have already teamed to help companies such as Verizon, a leading U.S. telecom provider, to migrate to an automated document factory environment. The integration of Kern hardware and software, combined with Sefas Open Print, enables Verizon to generate tightly controlled, high integrity document streams that are optimized for postal processing without having to make changes on the legacy application level. "Sefas Open Print suite is the industry’s most innovative set of document management tools", says Steve Watters, General Manager of Kern International. "Together, Kern and Sefas offer an unrivaled range of flexible solutions for any ADF environment. We’re excited that our customers will have a true alternative to proprietary ‘one size fits all’ ADF solutions". Peter Livaudais, chairman and CEO of Sefas Innovation said, "We are please to join forces with Kern International to provide ADF customers a complete solution. We have been closely aligned and well integrated with Kern mailing solutions for years on an informal basis. This alliance reinforces that customers can have their choice of the best of breed solutions with the support and commitment they expect." About Kern International Kern International is the US subsidiary of Kern AG, founded in Konolfingen Switzerland in1947. The company is a leading provider of world-class inserters, pre and post processing systems and open ADF solutions. Kern has a long history of innovation and technical excellence, and today we offer the world's fastest inserter as well as open and modular ADF solutions and innovative pre and post processing technologies. For more information about Kern International visit www.kerninc.com. About Sefas Innovation Sefas Innovation, the Content Factory Companytm is the leading global supplier of enterprise software for business process communications. Sefas was founded over 10 years ago, with over three years of international operations experience helping major enterprises meet their document output requirements. As the name implies, innovation is Sefas’ development model, with a constant eye on customer value. Sefas’ focus is on mission critical, transaction-based, customer communication documents that drive the success of their customers’ business. For more information about Sefas visit www.sefas.com.