BARCO and Gearhouse Group Plc. Sign Largest Contract Ever in the Rental & Staging Market

Las Vegas, NV - BARCO and the Gearhouse Group Plc closed the largest Rental and Staging Contract ever during this year's NAB 2000 Tradeshow. The contract has an estimated market value of $5 million. The Gearhouse Group is the largest rental company in the world for the presentation Rental and Staging market. The group consists of 42 offices in the UK, the USA, South Africa, Australia and the Middle East. The agreement includes more than 80 LCD and DLPTM projectors. The contract not only strengthens Gearhouse's top position in the worldwide Rental & Staging market, but also confirms BARCO's leadership in the top segment of this market.

This multi-million dollar deal, which was signed at NAB 2000 in Las Vegas by Gearhouse Director Gary Davis, illustrates Gearhouse's aim to establish the BARCO ELM series (Extreme Light Machine), based on Texas Instruments DLPTM technology, and the 9000 and 6000 LCD series projectors as the standard projectors for their Rental & Staging applications worldwide.

Gearhouse has been relying on BARCO projectors for the past several years, ever since the introduction of the first high brightness LCD projector in 1992. Gearhouse selected BARCO again to renew their worldwide rental fleet with BARCO's high-end DLPTM and LCD projection equipment for the top segment in the rental market. On completion of this order, Gearhouse will have a totally compatible fleet of projectors across their worldwide network of offices. "This order assures Gearhouse's position as supplier of top technology for projectors in the rental market, " said Gary Davis, Director Gearhouse Group Plc, "We now have a flexible fleet mix for all market sectors with the ELM R12, BR/BG 9300, BR 6400. Our local and international customer base can be assured of state of the art equipment at all of our locations worldwide. We believe this is the largest single order for projectors ever placed in the rental industry, and completely in line with our commitment to being the premier staging company worldwide in this market."

"Being selected as the key supplier for a high profile rental company such as Gearhouse shows once again that BARCO's projectors are ideally suited for high demanding environments like Rental & Staging," said Kristoff Henry, Product Group Manager Rental & Staging, "The fleet renewal program is the result of a partner relationship with Gearhouse that goes back many years. The agreement confirms the Gearhouse confidence in its future with BARCO."

BARCO Background

The BARCO Group, headquartered in Kuurne, Belgium, operates five major lines of business: Projection Systems, Display Systems, Vision, Graphics, and Communications. BARCO Projection Systems is an ISO 9001 registered world leader in developing and manufacturing large screen projection systems for a broad range of applications, from entertainment, presentations and training to process control and simulation. Its U.S. subsidiary, BARCO Projection Systems America, is based in Kennesaw, Georgia.

For more information, please contact:

Press Information:

Ellyce Entrekin, Public Relations Manager

Tel. (770) 218-3200
Fax (770) 218-3250
E-mail: ellyce.entrekin@barco.com

Market Information:

Lee Wolloff, Eastern U.S. Sales Manager Rental / Staging, Product Manager

Tel. (508) 883-3480
Fax (508) 883-3658
E-mail: lee.wolloff@barco.com

http://www.barco.com