TestMart Launches Online Marketplace for Electronic Test Equipment

Neutral Internet Community Offers Information and E-Commerce for All Manufacturers, Service Providers and Customers.

MENLO PARK, Calif - April 17,1999 -
TestMart™ announced it has launched www.testmart.com, a new Web site to provide community and commerce for the test and measurement industry. The controlled access site exemplifies TestMart's "Switzerland" model of third-party proprietary and licensed content and a neutral trading environment that is accessible and affordable to all.

"Essentially, TestMart provides high-quality, third party quantitative data for the users of test equipment," said TestMart CEO Peter Ostrow. "When you combine access to this proprietary information with a neutral trading environment, the results are an extremely powerful resource for an industry with over $9 billion in sales and key resource and distribution challenges.

"We offer services that can only be delivered by an independent neutral site," continued Ostrow. "The TestMart community gives all manufacturers access to an efficient channel for their products and services (including new and secondary equipment markets) without the cost and complexity of developing separate more narrowly focused sites. Sellers pay only a small commission on each sale made through the site, less than they would for third-party distribution sales.

"And like Swiss bank accounts, our e-commerce systems have tightly controlled access and are reviewed by an independent firm for security and quality. Our technology platform is modeled after the stock exchange trading floor, universal, affordable and easy to use by both companies and individuals - a whole new paradigm for the online connection of T&M buyers and sellers," concluded Ostrow.

The test equipment market consists of a diverse assortment of relatively low-volume, sophisticated technology products that are expensive to develop and manufacture. Typical products are built in short runs with low finished goods inventories and long lead times. The industry is deeply rooted in the cost-plus mentality of defense contractors, resulting in an estimated $45 billion inventory of equipment with high residual value and very low utilization held at thousands of locations.

The market has become fragmented and difficult to follow. Manufacturers have been focusing on fewer products; new companies have popped up to fill niches; others have been restructured, acquired or have simply disappeared. Product lines are being added, cut back, spun-out and discontinued so rapidly that information becomes obsolete faster than it can be published and disseminated. With no universal data format, comparisons of competing products have been difficult. Products have shorter life spans and often have no direct replacement when they go out of production.

The independent databases at TestMart contain information on products from all manufacturers, whether or not they have chosen to affiliate with the site. Members find the information they need within the site - they no longer need to visit multiple locations, piecing together incomplete information in disparate formats. Summary specifications are maintained in a normalized format for clear, unbiased side-by-side comparisons, products are located by powerful search engines based on requested characteristics.

TestMart membership is free of charge - sellers support the site. Members subscribe with very basic information and are then given access to databases, reference data and e-commerce, and are able to request literature, quotations and support via direct links to the manufacturers.

TestMart is the most comprehensive test equipment reference site and marketplace on the Internet. The site features massive databases of unbiased, proprietary and hard to find information and a safe secure Buy Online area where users can locate, compare, and select from an extensive offering of new and refurbished instruments. Databases contain detailed specifications on over 9,000 test and measurement products, contact and historical information on more than 500 manufacturers and a Reference section with extensive information including calibration intervals, life cycles, Y2K and CE status.

TestMart is a private company formed in 1998 to create community and to develop e-commerce applications for industrial technical equipment industries. Headquarters is located at 851 Traeger Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066; Telephone 650-624-0525, Fax 650-624-0535. For more information on TestMart, address e-mail to jharrington@testmart.com. The TestMart Web site can be found at https://www.testmart.com/.