Hexagon launches Bluetooth company

Hexagon launches Bluetooth company - expanding within wireless communication Hexagon's subsidiary Moteco has formed a new business area which develops and markets antennae as well as application skills and verification for wireless applications, principally for Bluetooth. Operations are to be conducted in a subsidiary of Moteco. Moteco is one of the world's leading suppliers of terminal antennae for mobile telephones, with operations in China, Sweden and the United States. Turnover in 1999 amounted to MSEK 215. The global market for terminal antennae is growing at roughly 50 per cent per year and Moteco's objective is to grow at the same rate as the market. Parallel with these operations, Moteco has developed antennae for Bluetooth. In order to concentrate these operations, Moteco is to form a new subsidiary which develops and markets antennae, as well as application skills and verification for Bluetooth. The new company will be recruiting an additional 15 qualified staff members in Lund. The company has developed several different standard antennae for use in Bluetooth applications. In addition to these, the company develops and manufactures application-adapted antennae for a large number of purposes. The potential is enormous and there is a huge number of fields of application. The company is located at Ideon Science Park in Lund. The antennae will be manufactured at Moteco´s factories in China and Sweden. Bluetooth is a technology for the wireless transmission of sound and data. The technology is cost-effective, compact and a power-saver. Using Bluetooth, it will be possible to link together telecommunications, networks, computer hardware and consumer products, to mention just a few fields of application. A compilation of different assessments shows that the number of Bluetooth units - and consequently antennae as well - will already exceed the number of mobile telephones manufactured in 1999 by the year 2002, and within five years the demand for antennae will be four times greater than this comparative figure. Bluetooth is an international standard which a large group of companies has given their support to. Today, this group (SIG) numbers roughly 1,400 companies including Ericsson, Nokia, IBM, Intel, Toshiba, Microsoft, Motorola, 3-Com, Lucent and Moteco. For more information on Bluetooth, surf to www.bluetooth.com Hexagon is a Stockholm Stock Exchange listed company with a turnover of SEK 5 billion. Our commercial concept is to create growth by the acquisition and development of companies. For more information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with: Börje Andersson, M.D. of Hexagon AB, on +46-418-44 92 00 Morten Smedstad, M.D. of Moteco AB, on +46-491-224 05, +46-705-82 82 40 Claes Lindkvist, Vice President Investor Relations, Hexagon AB, on +46-70-585 18 67 Or visit the companies' home pages, www.hexagon.se, www.moteco.com