CE Franklin and CompuSoft Complete Groundbreaking Project.

Business Editors

CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 16, 2000

CE Franklin, Canada's Largest Energy Industry Supply Company,

Introduces "MTR's Online" with CompuSoft's TraceAbility Software

CE FRANKLIN LTD. (TSE:CFT.)(AMEX:CFK) and COMPUSOFT CANADA INC. (CDNX:CUT.) of Edmonton, Alberta, announced today that they have successfully completed an online centralized database of Mill Test Reports (MTRs) utilizing CompuSoft's TraceAbility(R) Solution Series over the Internet.

MTR documents are required for more than 100,000 CE Franklin products per year to provide evidence that the products are compliant with metallurgical standards for high pressure applications. The TraceAbility(R) enabled centralized database has now become available to all of CE Franklin's 40 Canadian locations across their extensive Intranet. The MTR's Online system is now directly accessible by their customers utilizing the Internet and TraceAbility(R) OnLine(TM).

In an earlier stage of the project, the TraceAbility(R) software was installed over 18 months ago. It was tested and used internally at CE Franklin's Distribution Center in Edmonton and in its Piping Resources division in Edmonton and Calgary.

Another first with this project was the integration of MTR's from CE Franklin's largest supplier of weld fittings CCTF, a division of EMCO Limited (TSE:EML.) of London, Ontario. CCTF is also a user of TraceAbility(R) software. This process allowed CE Franklin to merge all relevant MTR's from CCTF's extensive database into CE Franklin's MTR System. A daily electronic update process to transfer new items from CCTF to CE Franklin keeps both systems up to date. This electronic data transfer arrangement is the first of it's kind in the metals industry.

In the past, each MTR document had to accompany the product throughout the entire supply chain. Copies of the MTR were kept on file by the manufacturer, the supplier, CE Franklin's Distribution Center, CE Franklin's service center and the customer creating numerous redundancies throughout the supply chain. CompuSoft's TraceAbility(R) Solution Series provides a way to manage this documentation electronically, greatly reducing duplications and inefficiencies.

"The metals industry is increasingly looking to eCommerce," says Ted Power Chairman of CompuSoft Canada. "TraceAbility(R) has become the industry standard for Quality Assurance (QA) document management; it is only natural that we provide an online solution to the headache of sharing this documentation. The most exciting thing about this project is the high degree of electronic integration between CE Franklin and CCTF. CompuSoft management firmly believes that this revolutionary project will have implications across the industry as more and more companies go digital."

"Streamlining the MTR management process is another valuable step in reducing redundancies and waste in the supply chain. In addition, our customers using our eCommerce will now be able to retrieve MTR's electronically as well," commented John Gilbank, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of CE Franklin. "We expect substantial benefits for our customers and an excellent return on investment for our shareholders on this project."

About CompuSoft Canada Inc.

The TraceAbility(R) Solution Series is a unique software technology specifically designed for managing the quality assurance documentation of metals industry clients engaged in distribution, and/or fabrication, as well as providing eCommerce solutions to these companies. The Solution series is composed of TraceAbility(R), TraceAbility(R) OnLine(TM), and eTraceAbility(TM) which are trademarks of CompuSoft Canada Inc. The company web site is located at www.compusoftware.com.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the securities in any jurisdiction. The securities of CompuSoft Canada Inc. have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act, 1933, as amended, and, subject to certain exemptions may not be offered or sold in the United States or to U.S. persons. The Canadian Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

About CE Franklin Ltd.

CE Franklin is Canada's largest distributor of supplies for the drilling, production, processing and pipelining of hydrocarbons. In addition to its complete range of production equipment, including artificial lift technology, the company sells pipe, valves, fittings and maintenance supplies and provides complete customer inventory procurement and management services through its 40 locations across Canada. The company also manufactures and packages specialized products for the energy industry and provides supply packages for projects in the hydrocarbon processing industry through its Piping Resources Division. CE Franklin's common stock trades on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CFT and on the American Stock Exchange under the symbol CFK.

This news release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although the Companies believe that their expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, they can give no assurance that expected results will be achieved. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements herein include economic conditions, seasonality of drilling activity, commodity prices for oil and gas, currency fluctuations and government regulations, and other risks and uncertainties as described in CE Franklin's 1999 Annual Report on Form 20-F as filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.