paragon at CeBIT 2006: Car media systems for the future •
Forward-looking solutions for handsfree speaking, navigation, telematics and multimedia in the automobile
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New will to get things moving at the former Cullmann GmbH in Cadolzburg
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Focus on expansion of upgrade products with the variocom® brand
Delbrück / Cadolzburg, March 9, 2006 – The paragon Group is showing its innovative portfolio for car media systems for the very first time at CeBIT 2006 in Hanover. From March 9 to 15, paragon AG and paragon fidelity GmbH present an interactive experience with forward-looking solutions for hands-free speaking, navigation, telematics and multimedia in motor vehicles (hall 11, booth B49). Visitors to CeBIT 2006 will literally feel the will to get things moving at the company’s new acquisition, formerly Cullmann GmbH, in Cadolzburg.
“Our aim is to give drivers and their passengers a perfect communication and information experience in their cars,” Klaus Dieter Frers, Chief Executive Officer at paragon AG puts the company’s concept in a nutshell. During CeBIT 2006, the company’s new momentum will literally become visible as the company puts life into its threefold theme: Integration, Transmission and Navigation. The paragon fair appearance highlights innovative solutions for traffic telematics, fleet management, audio/video/multimedia integration and navigation (e.g. a navigation system in the interior mirror). All products on show are ready for series production, integrated in a show car and can be experienced live on interactive terminals.
“We offer precisely the right products for one of the major trends within the automotive industry. The constructive use of information and communication technologies in vehicles and traffic infrastructures now plays an increasingly important role in mobility for people and commodities,” Frers explains. All products aim to optimally link a broad array of communications functions to the human-machine interface in the vehicle. In this field, paragon is the ideal partner to the automobile industry, with a portfolio that focuses on top
quality in data and voice transmission, integration of a broad array of functions for mobile communications devices and optimal orientation for drivers and their passengers.
With its new concept for upgrades based on the famous variocom® brand, the strategy in this key market is also in the spotlight at CeBIT. “We remain a strong and close partner to vehicle makers. At the same time, we want to better tap the potential offered by the upgrade market for our own benefit,” Frers explains the company’s policy. paragon has opted for a four-pronged strategy: accessories segments for auto makers, special large accounts with OEM profiles, distributors and an online shop that will be launched during CeBIT. However, high-quality products from paragon will not compete directly with cheap solutions. “We will continue to live our philosophy in the upgrade market. Our products are an optimal fit in vehicles and do not ruin the overall optics of the vehicle interior,” Frers stresses.
Headquartered in Delbrück in northern Germany, paragon AG is a global market leader in the manufacture of air quality sensors for the automotive industry. The internationally expanding high-tech company intelligently combines electronics, mechanics and software skills to develop, produce and market innovative system solutions for the Automotive (climate systems / car media systems / control and instrumentation systems), Electronic Solutions, and Building Technology divisions. It also operates at locations in Suhl, Thuringia (Production), Heidenheim, Baden-Württemberg (Sales Office), St. Georgen, Baden-Württemberg (Center for Instrumentation Systems) and Cadolzburg, Bavaria (Center for Communications Technology). Internationally, the paragon Group is represented by its wholly owned subsidiary paragon of North America Corp. with its own wholly owned subsidiary paragon firstronic of North America Corp. (both in Grand Rapids, Michigan, USA) and a sales office in Paris, France. paragon AG is listed in the Prime Standard at the Deutsche Börse stock exchange in Frankfurt am Main and provisional figures show currency-adjusted revenues of €83 million generated with 527 employees in fiscal 2005. Images available for download at http://www.paragon-online.de/index.php?page=1215&SEL_LAN=de& paragon AG Schwalbenweg 29 33129 Delbrück Phone: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-0 Fax: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-60 Internet: www.paragon-online.de E-mail: info@paragon-online.de Head of Corporate Communications Matthias Hack Phone: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-141 Fax: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-60 E-mail: matthias.hack@paragon-online.de PR Assistant Barbara Ikenmeyer Phone: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-161 Fax: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-60 E-mail: barbara.ikenmeyer@paragon-online.de Investor Relations Carsten Vogt Phone: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-140 Fax: +49 (0) 52 50 - 97 62-61 E-mail: carsten.vogt@paragon-online.de