Northrop Grumman Completes Acquisition of Mannesmann Dematic Postal Automation S.A. Business;

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Northrop Grumman Completes Acquisition of Mannesmann Dematic Postal Automation S.A. Business;

                      New Company To Be Called Solystic

    LOS ANGELES, April 24 /PRNewswire Interactive News Release/ -- Northrop
Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced today that it has acquired
Mannesmann Dematic Postal Automation S.A. (MDPA), a leading European-based
manufacturer of postal sorting equipment.  Terms of the sale were not
disclosed.
    MDPA will be known as Solystic S.A., a Northrop Grumman company, and will
operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the corporation.  Solystic, which has
approximately 700 employees, will report into the Automation and Information
Systems Division (A&IS), a business unit of the company's Electronic Sensors
and Systems Sector (ES3), headquartered in Baltimore, Md.
    The Solystic business base complements Northrop Grumman's position in
automation and systems integration for postal service and parcel courier
sortation and delivery customers.  In addition, the acquisition will provide
further international growth for A&IS.
    Solystic has a worldwide presence with customers in more than
20 countries.  Key customers include La Poste in France, the United Kingdom
and the United States Postal Service (USPS).
    "Solystic's core capabilities and strong international customer base are
an excellent fit for our business," said Mitch Mroz, vice president of
Northrop Grumman's A&IS Division.  "ES3 continues to focus on high-growth
businesses that dovetail with, and enhance, our business strategies."
    Pierre Andre Barriere, president and chief executive officer of Solystic,
said, "We will continue to grow as we combine resources to further enhance our
ongoing relationships with our postal customers worldwide."
    Solystic is recognized as the world leader of flat mail (magazines,
catalogs and circulars) automation equipment.  A key product of the
French-based company is the AFSM-100, known in Europe as TOP FSM, a machine
that sorts "flats" at more than twice the speed and at less operating cost
than existing USPS flat sorters.
    The AFSM-100 is currently being built and installed by a team comprising
Rapistan Systems and Northrop Grumman A&IS.  The team is currently under
contract with USPS to install 537 machines throughout the United States.
Additionally, the team has a contract with the British Royal Mail to deploy
the next generation of flats sorting machine, the TOP 2000, a system with a
capacity of 40,000 pieces per hour.
    Other Solystic products include STAR, a letter sortation system capable of
sorting 53,000 pieces of mail an hour; MARS, a local post office delivery
point sequencing system; and advanced optical character recognition and video
encoding equipment and software.

    Northrop Grumman Automation & Information Systems has been providing
automation design, equipment fabrication, field deployment, and logistics
support to the USPS for more than 11 years.  Solystic has been a leader in the
postal automation market for nearly 50 years.  This acquisition builds upon
the existing solid base of business and positions Northrop Grumman and
Solystic to grow together into the future.
    Northrop Grumman's ES3 is a leading designer, systems integrator and
manufacturer of defense electronics and systems, airspace management systems,
marine systems, precision weapons, space systems, logistics services, and
automation and information systems.
    Northrop Grumman Corporation is a $15 billion, global aerospace and
defense company with its worldwide headquarters in Los Angeles.  Northrop
Grumman provides technologically advanced, innovative products, services and
solutions in defense and commercial electronics, systems integration,
information technology and non-nuclear shipbuilding and systems.  With
80,000 employees and operations in 44 states and 25 countries, Northrop
Grumman serves U.S. and international military, government and commercial
customers.

SOURCE Northrop Grumman Corporation

http://www.northropgrumman.com
CONTACT:
Debbi McCallam of Northrop Grumman
Corporation, 410-765-1521
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