UN Unilever NV

Unilever and USA Technologies Forge an Alliance to Capture Student Laundry Marketplace eSuds(TM) System will Automatically Inject 'all' Detergent and 'all' Fabric Softener into Students' Laundry GREENWICH, Conn. and MALVERN, Pa., Nov. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Unilever , a global leader in home and personal care products and USA Technologies (BULLETIN BOARD: USTT) , makers of eSuds(TM), an online laundry payment, operating and service system, jointly announced a five year, multi-million dollar strategic alliance targeting the college and university students in the United States. Together the companies will launch a concerted program to better the college laundry experience while capturing a market consisting of 7 million young consumers. With an estimated 600,000 laundry machines nationwide in colleges and universities, students will have the ability to do their laundry more efficiently and with greater convenience in their new homes. This is the ideal system for college students, many of whom are new to the laundry process. From the laundry room, students activate the eSuds system at a control "hub" with the swipe of their student ID cards or keying in a unique pin number. The system automatically injects a pre-measured amount of 'all' laundry detergent and 'all' fabric softener into each load, at the right time. Developed in collaboration with IBM, USA Technologies' eSuds is able to connect washing machines and dryers to the Internet, giving students the ability to go online to check machine availability, pay with their student ID and choose to receive an email when their wash and dry cycles are complete. The system also gives laundry operators the ability to go online to monitor service conditions, usage and sales, and utilize alternative payment methods. "This is an exciting venture for both USA Technologies and Unilever," said Erika Bender, Vice President and Channel Manager, USA Technologies. "Together we are introducing a new 'pay injection' laundry service to college students, providing them with a higher level of service and convenience," she said. "The 'all' laundry brand team understands that students are on a tight budget, but still want their clothes to look and smell great which is why 'all' is the ideal laundry detergent and fabric softener for this program," said Craig Cicciari, Director of Strategic Alliances of Unilever. "By combining USA Technologies' eSuds know-how with Unilever's knowledge of detergents and fabric softeners, we are opening up new opportunities and providing a new level of laundry service to students," he said. "With Unilever as a strategic partner, the opportunities are limitless," said Ms. Bender. "This alliance illustrates how far we have come with eSuds, which initially was offered as a service for operators and students, and now has become a complete end-to-end solution. We're working with Unilever to integrate our equipment and systems to deliver a seamless eSuds system on campuses to college students," she said. About Unilever: Unilever is one of the world's largest consumer products companies with annual sales of approximately $47 billion in 2002. It produces and markets a wide range of foods and home and personal care products. Unilever operates in around 100 countries around the globe and employs approximately 250,000 people. In the United States, Unilever sales were approximately $11 billion in 2002. It employs approximately 15,225 people and has 59 offices and manufacturing sites in 21 states. The business comprises: Home and Personal Care: "all" laundry detergent and fabric softener, Surf and Wisk laundry detergents; Snuggle fabric softener; Sunlight dish detergent; Lever 2000, Caress, Pond's and Vaseline skin care; the Dove family of anti-perspirant, skin- and hair-care products; the Suave family of anti-perspirant, skin- and hair-care products; Axe deodorant bodyspray for men; Q-tips cotton swabs; Finesse, Salon Selectives, and ThermaSilk hair care products; and Calvin Klein, Cerruti and Vera Wang prestige fragrances. Foods: Lipton teas, soups and side dishes; Wish-Bone salad dressings and marinades; Lawry's seasonings and specialty sauces; Shedd's Country Crock and "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter!" spreads and sprays; Ragu pasta and pizza sauces; Knorr soups, sauces and bouillons; Hellmann's and Best Foods mayonnaise; Skippy peanut butter; Bertolli olive oil, premium pasta sauces and frozen dinners; Good Humor-Breyers and Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. ice cream companies; and Slim-Fast nutritional and health snack products. Visit Unilever at http://www.unilever.com/ About USA Technologies: USA Technologies is a leader in the networking of distributed assets, wireless non-cash and m-commerce transactions, associated financial/network services and interactive media technology and energy management. USA Technologies provides networked credit card and other non-cash/mobile commerce systems in the vending, commercial, laundry, hospitality and digital imaging industries. USA Technologies is an IBM Business Partner and an inaugural member of the Sprint Enabling Application Service Provider Program for e-commerce. The Company has marketing agreements with the IBM Corporation and MEI and the ZiLOG Corporation. http://www.usatech.com/ Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act: With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties that may individually or mutually impact the matters herein described, including but not limited to product acceptance, the ability to increase revenues, the ability to achieve profitability, the ability to obtain orders for its products, the ability to obtain new customers, the ability to meet installation goals, economic, competitive, governmental impacts, whether its pending patents will be granted or defendable; validity of intellectual property and patents of USA, the ability of USA to license its patents, the ability of USA to commercialize its developmental products, technological and/or other factors, which could cause actual results or revenues to differ materially from those contemplated by these statements. DATASOURCE: USA Technologies; Unilever CONTACT: Wendy Jenkins of USA Technologies, 1-800-633-0340, ; Stacie Bright of Unilever, +1-203-625-1130, ; Investor Relations - Ken Sgro, CEOcast, Inc. for USA Technologies, +1-212-732-4300 Web site: http://www.unilever.com/ http://www.usatech.com/

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