Chanhassen, MN (August 18, 2005) -- IWCO Direct, a leading national provider of integrated direct mail solutions, announces the expansion of its single-pass commingling capacity with the installation of two Siemens Dematic Delivery-Point Bar Code Sorter (DBCS) machines at IWCO Direct-New York. With this installation, IWCO Direct will have seven DBCS machines in operation, solidifying its position as the nation’s largest provider of DBCS-based commingling services. IWCO Direct pioneered single-pass commingling in 1995 and continues to lead the industry in commingling capacity and technology. The program was developed to respond to marketplace need as targeted mailings increased response rates, but reduced the percentage of mail qualifying for 5-digit discounts. IWCO Direct’s Automated Sorting Centers in Minnesota and New York will now operate seven full units of DBCS equipment, the same equipment used by the USPS to sort mail. “Last month’s acquisition of Fala Direct Marketing was the first step in our plan to further enhance IWCO Direct’s industry leading postal strategy by adding proximity to population centers to our already powerful mailing and logistics services,” said Jim Andersen, IWCO Direct President and CEO. “The addition of DBCS commingling services in New York adds capacity, flexibility, and reduced freight costs for the increasing number of clients who are including commingling in their postal strategy to drive the highest level of postal optimization.” Commingling is the automated sorting of multiple mailstreams into a common mail tray to drive the highest level of postage discounts. IWCO Direct is one of only a handful of mailers who provide true commingling services in the marketplace. Many mailers manually combine mail trays onto single destination postal skids and refer to that process as commingling; however, the combining process impacts only destination entry discounts. True commingling impacts both postage and destination entry discounts for direct marketers. “Customers have identified postage cost, speed to market, and response rate as their top business issues,” said Tom Wicka, executive vice president- marketing and sales. “IWCO Direct’s postal strategy, combined with our vertical solution production strategy, allows us to deliver on all three of these business needs. In addition, commingling ensures that test panels are delivered at the same time as controls, enabling direct marketers to get a true read on the effectiveness of their test messages, images, and formats.”