Press Release

devolo heads the market after just one year

Aachen, July 17, 2003 - devolo AG of Aachen, Germany looks back on its first year of business with some satisfaction: The company that emerged from the insolvent ELSA AG now leads the field in the sales of analogue modems in Germany and has—despite difficult economic conditions—firmly established itself in the market.

Heiko Harbers, devolo’s CEO sees the decisive success factors as the clear concentration on a narrow niche market, clever products, an experienced team with innovative ideas, and a broad sales platform. Today’s product range includes analogue and ISDN modems for home and commercial data communications, DSL Internet access devices, networking components and the HomePlug adapters MicroLink dLAN (direct Local Area Network) for the convenient networking of multiple PCs via the household electricity circuit.

“Within the market for analogue modems, which continue to be in popular demand with private consumers, devolo is the number one German supplier according to the latest sales figures from the GfK market research group”, said Heiko Harbers. In the segment for industrial modems, too, the newly introduced ISDN-based model MicroLink ISDN i has helped devolo to achieve an outstanding position in the market. The company was equally successful in securing long-term sales partnerships and is now present in all channels. Today, all of the large retail chains, department stores, and many online shops have devolo products in their range. Sales agreements have also been made with all of the leading distributors in German-speaking Europe, meaning that devolo products are now available virtually everywhere. The main focus over the last year was the establishment of a sales network in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Activities in Italy and in the Benelux countries have also begun. The development of a Europe-wide sales network will continue step by step.

The main reasons for the positive developments over the last twelve months are an experienced team of around 30 employees with a huge reservoir of know-how, a host of innovative ideas and the determination to succeed. Nearly half of the employees are involved in research and development. “We develop high-quality products that the competition just don’t have in their portfolios, and we are concentrating on the rapidly growing market in home networking”, says Harbers to his strategy. An example is the MicroLink dLAN, a product introduced to the markets in record time and that has performed very well in media product tests.

At the centre of the devolo philosophy is—according to the company founder—the customer’s desire for devices that are easy to install and operate. Self-explanatory installation menus, detailed manuals and a Support Hotline that is available weekdays from 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. help the customer if questions should arise. “The services we offer and our quality-control regime clearly differentiate our products from the no-name Far Eastern competitors”, emphasises devolo’s CEO. He continued to say that the remaining months of the year will see further innovations: “The market can expect some surprises very soon”.

devolo AG was founded in May 2002 by former employees of the now insolvent Elsa AG in Aachen, Germany. devolo has taken over the know-how from the Elsa AG along with the brand names and product rights for “MicroLink” and “Vianect”. 20 years of experience in developing data communications solutions is the basis for a broad spectrum of high-quality products. The current range includes analog modems, DSL modems and networking products for private consumers and professional users. The several years of experience that our employees possess enables even a young company like devolo AG to assure the quality of its products right from the start. The in-house research and development team ensures a constant flow of innovations and the fast reaction to demands arising from the market.

Christoph Rösseler
Sonnenweg 11
52070 Aachen
Germany
Tel: +49(0)241-18279-64
Fax: +49(0)241-18279-99
E-Mail: presse@devolo.de