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Britax, a Manufacturer of Child Seats -- Leads in Simple Installation

3 March 1999

Britax, the World's Leading Manufacturer of Child Seats -- Leads in Simple Installation

    FORT MILL, S.C., March 2 -- Britax, number one in the world
for sales of child safety seats has again set the pace for safety and
innovation with its simple to install "ISOFIX" child seat.  The US government
just announced its Final Rule for a new child restraint anchorage system based
on International Standards Organization's (ISO) latest documents.
    On Monday, the US Secretary of Transportation used a Britax child seat to
demonstrate the new system on NBC's "Today" show.  Now that the Final Rule is
published, Britax child seats with the new attachments will be available in
the US shortly.  However, Britax child seats with the new ISOFIX attachment
have been selling in Germany for several months.
    "When it comes to innovation to make safety simple, Britax will always be
the world leader," according to Tom Baloga, President of Britax Child Safety,
Inc.  Started in the US in 1996, Britax draws from over of 30 years of its
leadership position of designing child-safety features.  Britax currently is
the only company making child seats that can shut off an airbag.
    As a member of the US Department of Transportation's original Blue Ribbon
Panel that recommended the easier system for the US, Baloga, as well as
colleagues from Britax companies in the UK, Germany, and Sweden, have been
active in making the system a reality.
    In order to allow the US government to complete the Final Rule, Britax
agreed to give up patent rights to 3 different US patents covering various
aspects of the easier-to-use-system.  "We're in the business of saving kid's
lives, said Wally Czernakowski, Managing Director for Britax Roemer in Germany
and one of the patent holders, "including saving them in a competitor's child
seat."  The other patent holder David Burleigh, Britax Technical Director in
the UK agreed, "Every parent wants a simpler system, every child deserves the
best protection."
    Britax has 4 state-of-the-art crash test rigs at its R&D Centers in the
UK, Germany, and Australia, child seat manufacturing plants in the UK,
Germany, Australia, and Fort Mill, South Carolina, and sales offices
throughout the world.  The parent company, Britax International plc is traded
on the London Stock exchange (BTX).

    Websites:  http://www.britax.com and http://www.childseat.com