For further information, please contact:

Brian Beattie
Senior Vice President-Marketing
CHEP Americas
407.370.2437

Ronald Margulis
Managing Director
RAM Communications
908.232.3230

CHEP Announces Information Technology Services to Improve Supply Chain Efficiencies with Portfolio™

CHICAGO MAY 7, 2000: CHEP, the world leader in material handling platform rental, announced today here at the Food Marketing Institute’s Annual Supermarket Convention that it is taking dramatic steps toward providing its customer base with seamless global services. The company, based in Orlando with operations around the world, is announcing customer trials of its new online ordering and reporting service, Portfolio™. This new initiative takes advantage of opportunities made available due to global corporate expansion and the growth of the Internet.

Portfolio is an on-line service through which customers can conduct electronic business. This initiative will allow customers to:

• Order CHEP pallets and containers
• Report equipment movements
• Review Invoices and Account History
• Create Customized Reports

This service will provide benefits such as reduced administration costs and access to real-time information, all through simple access on the CHEP web site.

The service will eventually integrate existing on-line CHEP systems providing customers with seamless services worldwide. When fully implemented in 2001, Portfolio will enable CHEP to supply customers with new applications that will extend the functionality of CHEP equipment and back-end software.

"Simply put, Portfolio will allow companies to focus on their core competencies, whether they are manufacturing, distribution or retailing. So, it is critical that our customer base is able to minimize supply chain costs, improve processes, bring products to market faster and share information. Portfolio is designed to help them do exactly that," Bob Moore, CEO, CHEP INTERNATIONAL.

The information systems and services at CHEP are the key enablers in delivering quality service to the company’s customers. By harnessing the power of the Internet, traditional barriers are eliminated and companies can reach markets anytime and anywhere.

"Portfolio enables customers to maintain their own data on-line and provides single-point, real-time access to ordering and account information. Thus, administrative tasks and costs are reduced. The need to manage redundant sets of information and keep that information synchronized is eliminated" Explained Jack Sparn, CIO, CHEP INTERNATIONAL.

CHEP is an international pallet and container pooling company servicing manufacturers and distributors in the consumer goods industries; grower/shippers and receivers in the produce industry; packers, processors and distributors in the meat industry; home improvement, hardware & housewares manufacturers and distributors and suppliers and assembly plants in the automotive industry. The CHEP equipment pooling system supplies customers with high quality pallets and reusable containers from a comprehensive depot network. The company is part of the worldwide CHEP organization, which operates in more than 30 countries on six continents and controls more than 122 million pallets and 15 million containers. CHEP operating principles, service organization and computer tracking systems give participants a simple solution and improved efficiency in product delivery. Additional information on CHEP is available at www.chep.com.