DAW Group Relies on Nortel Solution at HQ and Manufacturing Plants in Germany

Redundant Network Ensures Production Line Security, VoIP Adds New Communications Capabilities in Offices

FRANKFURT, Germany - The DAW Group, a world market leader in paint and varnish products, is using Nortel* [OTC: NRTLQ] technology to introduce a local area network (LAN) at its head office location in Ober-Ramstadt, Hessen. The new network creates a foundation for forward-looking communications applications such as Unified Communications (UC) for DAW’s HQ personnel and provides a failsafe IT infrastructure to help ensure smooth-running production at the company’s automated manufacturing plants.

For the DAW Group, the redundant Nortel LAN network ensures the safe operation of its entire IT system, which has a positive effect on the company’s production chain. All stages in DAW’s paint and vanish production - from monitoring raw material stocks in its silos, to fulfilling repeat orders via the mixing and filling plant, to managing inventory and shipping - depend on the local network. IT outages at any of these automated production stages can lead to the plant grinding to a halt, creating substantial challenges for the company. The new redundant network ensures that even in the event of a network component failure the network can be switched without interruption to ensure continuation of service.

“At a time when competition is fierce in our markets, it was very important for us to have a sound IT infrastructure that can work uninterrupted across the Group’s entire automated added value chain,” said Martin Haury, leader, Organization and Information Technology, The DAW Group. “Nortel’s solution delivers that assurance and will also enable us to introduce innovative office applications such as Unified Communications solutions in the future.”

“The DAW Group has made a farsighted decision, by implementing a local network that supports modern UC applications,” said Jörg Elsässer, business leader, Enterprise, Nortel, Germany. “Market leaders need the best communications equipment to help them move business processes forward, make them faster and help them to be more competitive.”

Along with implementation of the new LAN network, all Nortel telephone systems at the main DAW location in Ober-Ramstadt are being updated gradually to VoIP to enable the 1,300 DAW employees there to reap the benefits of UC. For example they will be able to telephone, send faxes and e-mail, and make conference calls at the click of a mouse from the same PC application, thereby enabling them to communicate faster. In a second stage, the optimization of communications infrastructure will be extended to other DAW sites in Germany with the result that around 4,700 DAW employees benefiting from modern communications technology.

The DAW Group’s new network is based on Nortel products including its Ethernet Routing Switch 8300, Ethernet Routing Switch 5600, Ethernet Routing Switch 5500 and Ethernet Routing Switch 4500 solutions. The Group uses the Nortel Enterprise Switch Manager as its network management software.


About Nortel (in Administration)
Nortel was placed into Administration on 14 January 2009 and it continues to trade on a business-as-usual basis while it reviews its options to recover or restructure. Nortel has announced it is confident that the products and services it supplies will continue to be supported without impacting customers for the foreseeable future. Ernst & Young are the joint administrators for Nortel.


Nortel delivers communications capabilities that make the promise of Business Made Simple a reality for our customers. Our next-generation technologies, for both service provider and enterprise networks, support multimedia and business-critical applications. Nortel’s technologies are designed to help eliminate today’s barriers to efficiency, speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people to the information they need, when they need it. For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at www.nortel.com . For the latest Nortel news, visit www.nortel.com/news .


Certain statements in this press release may contain words such as “could”, “expects”, “may”, “anticipates”, “believes”, “intends”, “estimates”, “targets”, “envisions”, “seeks” and other similar language and are considered forward-looking statements or information under applicable securities legislation. These statements are based on Nortel’s current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about the operating environment, economies and markets in which Nortel operates. These statements are subject to important assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and the actual outcome may be materially different from those contemplated in forward-looking statements. For additional information with respect to certain of these and other factors, see Nortel’s Annual Report on Form10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other securities filings with the SEC. Unless otherwise required by applicable securities laws, Nortel disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

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