Bierlein Companies Joins The Dock as Preferred Member; Demolition Industry Leader Joins Innovative B2B Exchange For Service Providers Offering Direct Contact With Buyers and Sellers.

Business Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2001

Bierlein Companies Inc., a leader in the demolition, dismantling, asbestos abatement, and environmental services industries, has joined The Dock as a Preferred Member.

The announcement was made today by Michael Hackman, founder and president of The Dock.

The Dock (www.thedock.com) is the first online industrial exchange that allows buyers and sellers to access an integrated offering of equipment and value-added services in an open, collaborative marketplace. On The Dock, buyers and sellers can purchase and list assets or services under their own names and brands in a marketplace featuring multiple sales channels that mirror real world practices.

"Bierlein Companies' Preferred Membership gives The Dock the opportunity to demonstrate to the industry how The Dock helps sell their services to more qualified buyers and be more successful," said Hackman.

The Dock's Preferred Membership program is subscription-based and offers unlimited transactions and listings, a personal office tailored to the industry-specific business practices and other value-added account services.

Preferred Members also receive a Storefront, a customized home page where members describe their products and services in detail, display graphics, link to a variety of marketing materials, contact information and their company's Web site.

When buyers and sellers use The Dock's powerful search engine to find equipment and services, the member's name, Storefront icon and products are displayed with a link to the member's Storefront.

In addition to Bierlein, other leading demolition service providers on The Dock include Brandenburg Industrial Service Company.

Preferred Members also include leading corporations, equipment dealers, and auctioneers and others such as Aaron Equipment Company, Federal Equipment Co., DoveBid, Ralston Purina, Trailer Transit Inc., Machinery & Equipment Inc., Daewoo Heavy Industries America, Trailer Transit, Louisiana Equipment Company and Prestige Equipment Company.

Registration on The Dock is free and includes a Private Office, a personalized home page offering Dock Mail messaging and other customized features where members access the site's powerful resources.

Industrial equipment listed on The Dock ranges from machine tools, chemical processing, food and beverage and pharmaceutical to textile, woodworking, mining, power and more.

The Dock's broad range of more than 4,000 service providers includes appraisers, auctioneers, new and used equipment dealers, finance companies, riggers, transportation, insurance, real estate, scrap and salvage, warehousing, transportation, lenders, engineering and asset management.

With headquarters in Midland, Mich., Bierlein Companies is a premier, national specialty contractor serving the demolition, dismantling, asbestos abatement, and environmental services industries.

The company's guiding principles are continuous improvement, customer satisfaction, environmental stewardship, progressive leadership, and teamwork in an atmosphere where the success of the company, its customers, and the communities in which it works is determined by the quality and dedication of all Bierlein people. For more information, call 800/336-6626 or visit the Bierlein Web site at www.bierlein.com.

With headquarters in Los Angeles, The Dock is the leading online industrial equipment and services exchange. Open to all buyers, sellers and associated service providers in the industrial equipment market, The Dock reflects real-world practices and creates collaborative commerce by aggregating thousands of service providers and buyers and sellers from dozens of industries into a unified marketplace offering diverse transaction services and direct communication between buyers, sellers and service providers.

The Dock offers free membership and subscription-based Preferred Memberships that deliver substantial added-value services that promote member companies and their brands and services. For more information, visit The Dock's Web site, www.thedock.com, or contact The Dock at 310/477-8844.