GE Equity Plows Funds Into Farming Guidance System

9/23/2002

From: Bridget Kirkwood of BEELINE Technologies Inc., 303-457-9333, ext. 222; bridget_kirkwood@BEELINE.ag or Ralph Deptolla of CharlestonOrwig Inc. 262-563-5100

WESTMINSTER, Colo., Sept. 23 -- GE Equity has led an $11.24 million (AUD$20.5 million) capital raising for BEELINE Technologies Pty Ltd, the world leader in navigation technology for automatically steering farming equipment.

Existing financial investors the Food & Agribusiness Investment Fund, ABN Amro Capital and Queensland Development Fund, as well as the Australian firm's management, took part in the capital raising. The funding enables the company to continue its expansion in United States and Australian markets and launch marketing programs into Europe. This is the largest single private equity raising for BEELINE, which has now raised more than $19.19 million (AUD$35 million) since its inception in 1998. The company has also benefited from monies received under the Australian government's R&D Start Grant and Export Market Development Grant initiatives. Grant Samuel and Dynamic Strategy Partners jointly advised BEELINE on the latest capital raising, which is one of the largest venture capital transactions in Australia this year.

In announcing the funding, BEELINE Chief Executive Officer Robert Lorimer says it positioned the company for continued expansion and a possible IPO in the foreseeable future. "We are very pleased to have an investor of GE Equity's prominence join our list of investors. It is renowned for its thoroughness in assessing investments.

GE Equity joins us at a time when steering assist technology is reaching broad market acceptance," Lorimer says. BEELINE's core Steering Assist technology is capable of steeringagricultural equipment within 0.8 inches (2 centimeters) accuracy and is viewed as a precursor to robotic farming which remains some years away. "Farmers using BEELINE have in cases been able to halve their machinery fleet and make fuel savings of up to 30 percent," Lorimer says. "We help our customers eliminate waste, improve productivity and reduce soil compaction caused by traditional farming methods. Farming with BEELINE is in itself a huge step towards environmentally sustainable agriculture."

The potential market is estimated at a total $12 billion worldwide and BEELINE is the global market leader in the field. The first BEELINE Steering Assist system was sold commercially in 1998. The company now employs 68 people in Australia and 25 in the U.S. BEELINE established its presence in the U.S. market in 2000 and recently opened a production and distribution office in Westminster, Colo.

BEELINE recently signed a six-year contract with the world's third largest tractor manufacturer, AGCO, to exclusively supply factory-fitted steering assist to its entire range of agricultural equipment, including the Challenger, Massey Ferguson and Fendt brands. BEELINE has begun shipment of the Challenger Auto-Guide product, which was co-developed with Caterpillar and AGCO, and is distributed through the Challenger. Dealer network.

BEELINE Technologies Pty Ltd is a privately held company, which through pioneering research has achieved global market leadership in GPS/INS steering assist systems for self-propelled agricultural equipment. BEELINE is proud to be a company founded by farmers, forging useful technology for farmers. BEELINE Technologies was established in 1994 and is headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, with offices in Fresno, Calif. and Westminster, Col. For more information, visit the company's Web site at: http://www.BEELINE.ag.

AGCO Corporation, headquartered in Duluth, Ga., is a global designer, manufacturer and distributor of agricultural equipment and related replacement parts. AGCO products are distributed in 140 countries. AGCO offers a full product line including tractors, combines, hay tools, sprayers, forage equipment and implements through more than 7,350 independent dealers and distributors around the world. AGCO products are distributed under the brand names AGCO, AGCOSTAR, Ag-Chem, Challenger, Farmhand, FENDT, Fieldstar, GLEANER, Glencoe, Hesston, LOR-AL, Massey Ferguson, New Idea, SOILTEQ, Spra-Coupe, Tye, White Planters and Willmar. AGCO provides retail financing through AGCO Finance in North America and through Agricredit in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Spain and Brazil. In 2001, AGCO had sales of $2.5 billion.