Northeast Utilities signs corporate deal with Alpharel's European group, Trimco.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 1996--Alpharel (NASDAQ/NMS:AREL) Wednesday announced an agreement between Northeast Utilities and Alpharel's European group, Trimco Enterprises.

The agreement makes Trimco's electronic document management software (EDMS) Northeast Utilities' corporate standard for integrated document management. The installation will span all departments within Northeast Utilities, supporting 4,000 users at three nuclear power plant sites.

Northeast Utilities is a major utility based in Hartford, Conn. The first Trimco system will be installed at the Seabrook Nuclear Plant in New Hampshire.

"The Northeast Utilities contract marks a major partnership between our two companies," said Jay Tanna, Trimco's Managing Director and Alpharel executive vice president. "To ensure a mutually beneficial, long-term relationship, Northeast Utilities has agreed to become a member of our Corporate Advisory Board, which guides us as we chart our long-term product strategy."

"This very substantial order will have a significant impact on our 1996 prospects," said Stephen Gardner, Alpharel president and CEO. "This is an excellent beginning to the new year and to the Alpharel-Trimco union."

A flexible user interface, strength in both office and engineering environments and broad range of tailorable product were the factors in Northeast Utilities' decision to select Trimco. In addition, the new customer cited the company's ability to integrate with other applications and commitment to open systems and international standards.

The initial installation will be integrated into Northeast Utilities' existing INDUS system, which is a plant management package that holds document information for user distribution. As part of the Phase I program, Northeast Utilities will test Trimco Pro, Trimco's engineering application; CAD-Connect, a module to view and markup CAD drawing on non-CAD clients; and CD-ROM Author, a tool that creates a CD with all the properties of the WIN-Track database.

TARGET, Trimco's office EDMS solution; Mail Gateway, integrating Trimco's and Northeast Utilities' electronic mail systems; and Trimco Workflow will provide the foundation for the office and commercial environment.

Alpharel, together with its European group, Trimco, is a leader in delivering enterprise-wide integrated document management and imaging systems to thousands of customers around the world. These systems are installed in manufacturing, utilities, petrochemical, government, banking, transportation and other industries.

Documents of all sizes, from letter-size pages to large-scale engineering drawings are handled rapidly over global networks in a very cost-effective manner. Alpharel and Trimco products and customers have won numerous industry awards of the past few years.

CONTACT: Alpharel Inc.

Stephen R. Gardner/John W. Low, 619/625-3000

[e-mail]

http://www.alpharel.com