EANS-News: Hoeft & Wessel successful with new compact TVM in the UK

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Subtitle: Almex UK provides Merseytravel/Liverpool with stationary ticketing
system

Swindon, UK / Hannover, Germany. 15 April 2011. (euro adhoc) - The Hoeft &
Wessel Group has succeeded in winning an order for ticket vending machines (TVM)
from Merseytravel, the Passenger Transport Executive for the Liverpool City
Region. The public transport operator has opted for the new compact model
almex.midi, which will be installed at the ferry stations, Liverpool airport and
other transport hubs around the region and the machines will feature as part of
Merseyside´s integrated ticketing vision for passengers using the transport
network.

The new slimline machines (only 68 cm wide) have been designed with the
passenger interface in mind, and include a touch screen, support all modern
means of payment including ITSO compliant contactless smart cards. Braille and
LED guidance features add convenience and comfort for all public transport
passengers. The units will be easily recognised around the city, as they will
carry Merseytravel´s unique livery.

One of the key reasons for the choice of the Almex machines was their proven
robustness, with many machines already successfully operating in northern
Germany and Scandinavia in waterside locations; in Hamburg, Almex machines are
operating both at ferry terminals, but also on the ferries themselves. The
machines will further complement the investment made in the new state of the
art Pier Head terminal.

The almex.midis are equipped to accept the existing national concessionary
smartcards and the new regional ITSO smartcard scheme planned for the
Merseytravel operating area, where Almex on-bus ticket ITSO compliant
electronic ticket machines will also soon be operating.

The Almex brand has been present in the UK for several decades, and this
contract further confirms its position as a leader in the supply of ticketing
systems for buses and trams and stationary outdoor ticket vending machines,
which it has been supplying across the continent for more than two decades.

Liverpool is the cultural and business hub for the Merseyside region, and was
recently the European City of Culture. The river Mersey is a broad expanse
where it passes through the Beatles´ city of Liverpool and flows into the Irish
Sea. So broad, in fact, that the ferries operated by the public transport
company Merseytravel cross the river over a 100 times a day to meet the
mobility needs of its passengers.

The "Ferry, cross the Mersey" immortalised by Gerry and The Pacemakers´ song
cost half a penny back in 1957. Today, a single ticket costs around GBP 1.50
(about EUR 1.80). Soon customers will not be needing cash if they want to cross
the river, as the new almex.midis will allow payment by chip and pin, and in
the near future, use of the Merseytravel regional smart card scheme. Coin and
banknote users have not been forgotten and traditional users will enjoy the
enhanced braille and LED supplemented interfaces.

In the UK Almex has supplied thousands of driver operated ticketing systems,
almost all of them within ITSO schemes. In Europe, the Almex division is a
leading manufacturer of ticketing and telematics systems for public transport
and check-in solutions for the airline industry. More recently, Almex has been
making mobile GSM-Rail communications systems available for shunting and
construction operations.

Press kit with photos: http://www.presseportal.de/pm/12945/hoeft_wessel_ag/

The Company
The Hoeft & Wessel Group is the leading IT and engineering technology Group for
ticketing, parking and mobile solutions in Germany and Great Britain.
Established in 1978 by the two entrepreneurs who gave the company its name and
listed on the stock market since 1998, the enterprise has developed into a
group of companies with sales revenues of nearly EUR 100 million and a
workforce of 500 employees. Its main locations are Hannover, Germany, and
Swindon, UK, to the west of London.

The annual investment volume in the Research & Development division, which sets
the pace in the Group´s technological orientation and employs more than a third
of the total workforce, amounts to approximately 10 per cent in terms of
turnover. According to the EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard, Hoeft &
Wessel ranks amongst the top companies in Europe.

Further inquiry note:
Arnd Fritzemeier
Tel.: +49-511-6102-300
E-Mail: PR@hoeft-wessel.com
end of announcement euro adhoc
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company: Höft & Wessel AG
Rotenburger Str. 20
D-30659 Hannover
phone: +49-511-6102-0
FAX: +49-511-6102-411
mail: ir@hoeft-wessel.com
WWW: http://www.hoeft-wessel.com
sector: Technology
ISIN: DE0006011000
indexes: TecDAX, Prime All Share, Technology All Share
stockmarkets: regulated dealing/prime standard: Frankfurt, free trade: Berlin,
Hamburg, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf, Hannover, München
language: English

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