Blaupunkt Improves Distribution in Central United States

BROADVIEW, IL (11/13/06) -- Blaupunkt has announced a major realignment of its distributors' territories across roughly the central one-third of the US. Mid-State/RTI Distributing, which distributes Blaupunkt in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri, will now take over distribution for Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Mid-States/RTI Distributing is based in Des Moines, IA, and has warehouses in Des Moines; Fargo, ND; Omaha, NE; and Shreveport, LA.

"Mid-State has been a very successful participant in our transition to factory-direct distribution over the past 10 months," said Lutz Marschall, Blaupunkt's general manager. "Now, with their recent acquisition of RTI Distributing, it was an obvious choice to have them take over our south-central territories."

"We have been doing very well with Blaupunkt in the northern states," said Jim Hedden, President of Mid-States/RTI, "and we are pleased to have the opportunity to expand our operations with the brand. With Blaupunkt, we have been able to offer independent dealers a highly recognized brand that is not widely available on-line or from mass merchants, and this has proven to be a winning combination."

Since the first of this year, Blaupunkt has been shipping directly from the various factories to its network of independent regional distributors. This provides major benefits in terms of costs and efficiency.

"Our transition to factory-direct distribution has been very successful," continued Marschall. "Most of our new distributors have been quick to recognize the benefits of this program. We have made several adjustments to the network, and hope to close up the few remaining gaps by the end of the year. When we shifted to distributors last year, we knew there would be a consolidation of markets as the superior companies began to prove our new sales plan."

Blaupunkt, the mobile electronics division of The Robert Bosch Corporation, designs and manufactures high quality and high performance car audio, video and navigation products for sale worldwide. For Blaupunkt dealer locations and product information, call 1(800) 950-BLAU [2528] or visit the company's web site at <www.blaupunktusa.com>.

In North America, the Bosch Group manufactures and markets automotive original equipment and aftermarket products, industrial automation and mobile products, power tools and accessories, security technology, packaging equipment and household appliances. Bosch employs more than 23,300 associates in more than 80 facilities throughout North America and reported sales of $6.6 billion in 2003. For more information, visit www.boschusa.com.

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Mid-State/ RTI Distributing
2600 Bell Ave.
Des Moines, IA. 50321
800-798-2568
Jeff Hedden, jjhedden@m-state.com or
Mike Pichik, m.pichik@m-state.com