Zuken partners with Tropical Design Services to increase CADSTAR technical support coverage by 85%

August 3rd, 2004– Westford, MA, USA - Zuken, a leading provider of EDA solutions, today announces a partnership agreement with Tropical PCB Design Services. This agreement extends the longstanding relationship with Tropical to include customer support services, adding value to customers’ investment in Zuken’s CADSTAR solution.

Working with Tropical’s team of experts, Zuken is able to extend customer support coverage from 8 to 14 hours per day on weekdays, and offer an additional 4 hours of coverage on Saturdays. Customers working across multiple time zones, investing longer hours on critical projects, or those with flexible shift structures will benefit from the extended support hours without additional cost in their annual maintenance contracts. The 85% increase in coverage hours expands the overall value of the investment in the tool suite.

Tim O’Neill, Director of the CADSTAR Business Unit comments, “At a time when other vendors are increasing support costs, Zuken’s partnership with Tropical PCB Design Services offers unique value in the industry – CADSTAR hotline coverage when it’s most needed – while at the same time, maintaining long-term cost of ownership and price/performance leadership.”

The partnership developed from Tropical’s years of experience as a VAR for the CADSTAR solution, and as a service bureau for Zuken’s CADSTAR, VISULA, and CR-5000 suites of tools. "Our long, productive relationship with Zuken enables Tropical PCB Design Services to offer increased value to CADSTAR customers through extended hours and increased support availability.  Our extremely talented team represents over 300 years of direct Zuken product experience. We look forward to continuing and improving upon the excellent service currently enjoyed by CADSTAR customers," commented Sam Burton , President, Tropical PCB Design Services.

Zuken’s CADSTAR customers will be able to take advantage of the new hours starting August 1, 2004 .

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About Tropical:
Incorporated in 1998, Tropical PCB Design Services has grown into an international organization with personnel in 4 countries and 7 states. In addition to providing design services world-wide, Tropical also offers CADSTAR sales and support efforts in 21 countries and 7 time zones.  Tropical attributes its success to the continuous application of the policy "100% Customer Satisfaction; No Exceptions, No Excuses".  For further information please see our website: www.tropicalpcb.com

About Zuken:
Established in 1976, Zuken has evolved into a provider of solutions that maximize the efficiency of the design and manufacturing processes of electronics companies around the world. Zuken holds a leading global share of the PCB/MCM/HIC software market in the field of electronic design automation (EDA). In addition to its longstanding experience as a provider of innovative solutions for PCB design, Zuken’s expanded portfolio encompasses proven solutions for the development of information technology (IT) infrastructures. Listed on Level 1 of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, the company is headquartered in Japan and has development, sales and support centers in 10 countries including the US, Germany, UK and France. Zuken's customers include the world's top 30 electronics manufacturers from automotive to aerospace, communications to consumer electronics, and medical to military.