SPE.L Regulatory News (SPE)

22 May 2007 07:00

Embargoed Release: 07:00hrs Tuesday 22nd May 2007

Sopheon plc (`Sopheon') ColepCCL Uses Sopheon's Accolade‚® to Enable and Manage Innovation Process Europe's Largest Contract Manufacturer Implements Group-wide Process to Support Proactive Innovation on Behalf of Customers

Sopheon plc, the international software and services company, is pleased to announce that ColepCCL (` the company'), Europe's largest contract manufacturer of personal and household care products and associated packaging solutions, has selected Sopheon's Accolade product life cycle management (PLM) system to support group-wide implementation of the company's innovation management process. The system will be used by ColepCCL's newly instituted Innovation Centre to provide the automated structure for deployment of the process across plant locations in the UK, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Poland.

ColepCCL was formed in July 2004 as a result of the merger between Colep and CCL Custom Manufacturing. The company consists of four product and packaging divisions and employs approximately 2,100 people throughout Europe. Its contract manufacturing operations produce items such as hair gels and sprays, over-the-counter pharmaceutical preparations, oven cleaners, air fresheners, car waxes and veterinary supplies, as well as a wide range of metal and plastic cans, bottles and pumps associated with the packaging and use of these products.

ColepCCL had historically derived the lion's share of its revenues from manufacturing products and supplying tinplate and plastic packaging according to customer specifications, and from then fulfilling product orders. In recent years, as competitive pressure on both product and package manufacturing has emerged from Asia and other regions, ColepCCL has shifted to a strategy of proactive innovation. Based on this charter, the company's contracts increasingly center on the development of new products and solutions, thereby positioning ColepCCL as an integral partner in the customers' innovation efforts.

In early 2006 ColepCCL established the Innovation Centre to foster creativity and innovation. The Centre is run autonomously, reporting to the ColepCCL Board and providing services to all divisions of the company. A central aspect of the Centre's charter is to coordinate and support implementation of a common innovation process across ColepCCL's geographically decentralized infrastructure of business units. The Centre was assisted in the design and implementation of the process, a variation of the widely used Stage-Gate‚® methodology, by Lisbon-based Inogate. Inogate, a consultant that specializes in enterprise innovation, is a Sopheon partner. It introduced Sopheon's Accolade to ColepCCL as a support solution that would enable the company to automate and more effectively manage its innovation system. Accolade was subsequently chosen over competing solutions due to such considerations as its ease-of-use, the speed and ease with which it can be implemented, and because of a broad mix of advantages stemming from the fact that the Sopheon software is specifically designed to support the process of innovation.

"ColepCCL is committed to reshaping the packaging industry," said Grant A. Coupland, leader of the Innovation Centre. "Our strategy for achieving this goal is to raise our value to customers by leading in the turnkey development of innovative solutions and services. Accolade gives us a unified, sustainable process structure that will enable our business units to effectively innovate with a local focus, but also operate in alignment with the overarching objectives and best practices of the group. Accolade is a cornerstone of ColepCCL's foundation for innovation excellence."

"When ColepCCL came to us, they had a clear vision of the type of process they wanted to support their innovation initiative," said Paulo Janeiro, chief executive officer of Inogate. "Based on that vision, we completed the technical validation, blue printing, installation and configuration of the system in less than 60 days. Accolade's simplicity and technical integrity were key enablers of the speed with which that implementation was executed. The resulting robust, global innovation management process positions ColepCCL to assume a position of innovation leadership within its industry for a long time to come."

Accolade‚® is a registered trademark of Sopheon plc.

Stage-Gate‚® is a registered trademark of the Product Development Institute.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the sole property of their respective owners.

About ColepCCL

ColepCCL is part of the RAR Group, one of the largest economic groups in Portugal, registering a turnover of 320 million euros and with approximately 2,100 employees in Europe. ColepCCL supplies its clients - some of the most important consumer goods brands in the world - from its industrial units situated in Portugal, Spain, UK, Poland and Germany. For more information, please visit www.colepccl.com.

About Inogate

Inogate is a consulting firm in enterprise innovation, with offices in Lisbon and Coimbra, Portugal. Inogate is dedicated to the improvement of its customers' innovation performance. The firm's team of experts specializes in the implementation, systematization and optimization of processes that increase the ROI from innovation. Inogate developed the KIEL Modeltm , an approach to innovation dynamism that ensures long-term process success. Inogate is the exclusive representative of Sopheon and its Accolade software in Portugal. For more information, please visit www.inogate.pt.

About Sopheon

Sopheon is an international provider of software and services that help organizations improve the business impact of product innovation. Sopheon's Accolade system automates and governs the innovation process, enabling companies to increase revenue and profits from new products. Sopheon is listed on the AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands. For more information, please visit www.sopheon.com.

For further information contact:

Barry Mence, Chairman Sopheon plc Tel : + 44 (0) 1483 685 735 Arif Karimjee, CFO Sarah Wharry, Nominated Seymour Pierce Limited Tel: +44 (0) 207 107 8000 Adviser Andrew Tan Hansard Group Tel : + 44 (0) 207 245 1100 + 44 (0) 7957 203 685 Floor van Maaren Citigate First Financial Tel : + 31 (0) 205 754 010