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IPICO announces exclusive agreement with Runners Inc. for distribution of IPICO Sports timekeeping products in Japan

^{Published on 2009-07-29 12:52:25, Last Modified on 2009-07-29 12:52:33 - Market Wire}
 

 BURLINGTON, ON, July 29 /CNW/ - IPICO Inc. (TSX-V: RFD) announces an agreement with Runners Inc., a Japanese company, for the distribution of IPICO Sports automated tracking and timing solutions for use in the active sports and wellness markets in Japan. The companies will work together to penetrate all levels of these markets by providing turnkey solutions, customer training and equipment warranty support. IPICO Sports' next-generation tracking and timing solutions are achieving increasing success in the RFID sports timekeeping market as a result of IPICO's unique IP-X communication protocol and related technology, specifically developed to overcome certain of the limitations faced by more conventional protocols. The primary advantage of this technology lies in its ability to work in harsh and challenging environmental conditions. The patented dual frequency technology is designed to eliminate signal loss and tag read collision and works particularly well for objects high in liquid, carbon or electronic content (such as the human body). Since their initial market introduction in March 2007, IPICO Sports systems are now being used in over thirty-six different countries, and continue to develop and grow a loyal following around the globe. Runners Inc. President Jiro Hashimoto said, "We are very excited about the IPICO Sports products, with their advanced automated tracking and timing solutions for active sports. We are delighted to be working with this company. Their innovative solutions offer our customers in Japan many benefits. We have worked closely with IPICO during the last three years, and we look forward to the successful introduction of their solutions into the active sports market in Japan." IPICO Sports Vice President Philip Lockwood is also enthusiastic about the arrangement. "We recognize the significance of the active sports market in Japan, and we are very pleased to be working with Runners Inc., the industry leader in Japan, to impact that marketplace in a very significant way." About IPICO Sports. Mercury Sports, Inc., a subsidiary of IPICO Inc., operating as IPICO Sports, combines years of active sports management experience with innovative technologies to help event organizers, professional timers, clubs and scholastic organizations significantly enhance the level of services they offer to athletes, spectators, media, commentators and other participants. The company uses the latest Radio Frequency Identification technology, in conjunction with information management and communication tools, to provide solutions that capture, manage and distribute results in the active sports, wellness and recreation markets. For further information, go to [ www.ipicosports.com ]. About Runners Inc. Runners Inc. was founded in 1975 and is the leading event management company in active sports in Japan, and it also provides online registration services for events, video and photo services, sports equipment development, and produces numerous print media publications. Through its event management division THE RECS INC., it timed over 850,000 people in more than 370 major events in 2008, including the Tokyo International Marathon, Nagoya International Women's Marathon and Beppu-Oita Mainichi Marathon. Visit [ http://runnet.jp/ ] About IPICO Inc. IPICO Inc. is an RFID solution supplier with operations in Canada, USA, South Africa, Europe, Asia and Australia. IPICO produces smart labels and tags based on the IP-X communication protocol. IPICO's low interference readers are designed to meet regulatory requirements in many major markets, and allow for multi-reader rollout in close proximity. IPICO's low cost RFID products excel at long read range, fast multi-read anti-collision and high thru-beam read-speeds of dynamic tag populations. These products are used to optimize the management of items, people, animals and processes within the logistic supply chain and other value chains. For further information, go to [ www.ipico.com ]. This news release contains certain forward-looking statements pertaining to future anticipated projected plans, performance and developments, as well as other statements relating to future operations and results, including, without limitation, statements as to sales forecasts and required minimum future revenues. Any statements in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be considered to be forward-looking statements. Written words such as "may", "will", "expect", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate", "intends", "goal", "objective", "seek", "attempt", "suggest" or variations of these or similar words, identify forward-looking statements. These statements by their nature are estimates of future results only. Actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements and are based on current expectations that involve substantial risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to the failure to meet market growth, order volume, delivery commitment or minimum revenue expectations, political intervention, and those other risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in IPICO's periodic reports filed on SEDAR ([ www.sedar.com ]). THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE DOES NOT ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR THE ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. %SEDAR: 00023515E 

For further information: Philip Lockwood, Vice President, IPICO Sports, Tel: (309) 672-6442, ext. 301, Email: [ plockwood@ipicosports.com ]; Tetsuo Yamaguchi, President, THE RECS, Tel: +81 3-3714-8534, Email: [ yamaguchi@runners.co.jp ]