STAMFORD, Conn., Oct. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Pitney Bowes Capital Services, a division of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI), has chosen the Bowstreet(TM) Business Web Factory to integrate its web-based escrow service, PitneyEscrow, with partner sites.

Using the Bowstreet Business Web Factory as a platform, the PitneyEscrow service will be available in numerous e-marketplace sites simply by pointing and clicking. This automated interconnecting of companies in a next-generation "business web" will dramatically expand Pitney Bowes' market reach while reducing the time and complexity of connecting to each partner's site. Since Pitney Bowes and its partners both touch the customer in these online transactions, seamless integration onto the site translates into a better customer experience than a simple hyperlink would.

Pitney Bowes will make its first business web partner connection by the end of the year when it embeds the PitneyEscrow service into elcom, inc., the eProcurement and eMarketplace solutions subsidiary of Elcom International, Inc. (Nasdaq: ELCO). The escrow service, banked by Pitney Bowes Bank, protects buyers and sellers in e-marketplace transactions by securely holding electronic payments until all parties satisfy the terms of the transaction. From there, Pitney Bowes will expand its business web by embedding the service in additional partner sites and by proliferating additional services, such as financing.

"Creating a business web with our customers and partners is at the core of our business strategy," said Keith Williamson, president of Pitney Bowes Capital Services. "Bowstreet automates the process so that we can execute our business strategy as quickly as we ink the partnership deals."

Bowstreet establishes fast connections and enables multiple customized business processes by transforming Pitney Bowes' core competencies into XML-based application components called web services. With the Bowstreet Business Web Factory, Pitney Bowes business managers can point and click to search, select, acquire, combine, customize and multiply web services to create business webs -- all without programming.

"The Bowstreet-powered business web will do for Pitney Bowes Capital Services what Pitney Bowes did for business correspondence," said Bob Crowley, president and CEO of Bowstreet. "It will transform the company and its market, creating new revenue streams with an entirely new way of doing business."

About Pitney Bowes Capital Services:

In addition to being a market leader of large-ticket equipment financing for the Fortune 1000, Pitney Bowes Capital Services, through its PitneyB2BCapital suite of products and services, is rapidly becoming a leading facilitator of online financial services. PitneyB2BCapital offers real-time, secure transactions using innovative proprietary technology, providing buyers and sellers with the security of a trusted third party. Additional information on the PitneyB2BCapital suite can be found at http://www.pitneyb2bcapital.pb.com or PitneyEscrow at http://www.pitneyescrow.pb.com. Pitney Bowes Capital Services is a division of Pitney Bowes Inc., a $4.4 billion global provider of messaging management. Additional information on Pitney Bowes can be found at http://www.pitneybowes.com.

About Bowstreet

Bowstreet provides the XML infrastructure for plug-and-play e-commerce. Bowstreet's Business Web Factory and businessweb.com use revolutionary change automation technology to create business webs: fluid, interconnected collections of web services that come together dynamically over the Internet to create entirely new business models. Bowstreet's pioneering solutions enable companies to sell new products and services, create new channels of distribution and develop new business initiatives at a fraction of the time and cost of today's approaches. For more information, visit http://www.bowstreet.com or call 603-559-1900.

About Elcom International, Inc.

Elcom International, Inc. (http://www.elcominternational.com), through its wholly-owned subsidiary, elcom, inc., is the global leader of remotely-hosted eProcurement and eMarketplace solutions. elcom's innovative technology leadership with PECOS Internet Procurement Manager, the world's first "live" remotely-hosted eProcurement platform, and PECOS Internet Exchange Manager, its second generation eMarketplace platform, establishes the next standard of value and enables enterprises of all sizes to realize the many benefits of B2B eCommerce without the burden of infrastructure investment and ongoing content and system management. elcom, inc. competes against such companies as Ariba, Inc., Commerce One, PurchasePro.com, and Clarus Corporation.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors including timely development and acceptance of new products, gaining product approval, successful entry into new markets, changes in interest rates, and changes in postal regulations, as more fully outlined in the company's 1999 Form 10-K Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act

This press release includes statements that may constitute forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those with respect to the Company's objectives, plans and strategies set forth herein and those preceded by or that include the words "believes," "intends," "expects," "will," "plans," "anticipates," or similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include: the overall markets' and individual customers' acceptance and usage of the Company's electronic commerce software systems, the uncertainties surrounding the negotiation and formation of any joint venture, the risks of doing business in foreign countries, and the impact of competitive technology products as well as factors and other risks detailed in the Company's Registration Statement on Form S-3 and from time to time in the Company's other reports filed with the SEC. The Company assumes no obligation to update any of the formats of, or information contained or referenced, in this announcement.

Bowstreet is a trademark of Bowstreet.com Inc. All other company names and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies or owners.

    Ann Kelly                         Jeff Aubin
    Bowstreet                         Beaupre & Co. Public Relations Inc.
    603-559-1557                      603-559-5838
    akelly@bowstreet.com              jaubin@beaupre.com

    elcom, inc. Contact:              Edelman Public Relations:
    Investor Relations                Chris Barber
    E-mail: invrel@elcom.com          617-878-2005
    Voicemail: 781-501-4094           Chris_Barber@Edelman.com

    Kelly O'Brien                     Thomas Lutazi
    Pitney Bowes Capital Services     PR 21
    203-922-4291                      for Pitney Bowes Capital Services
    kobrien@pbfs.com                  212-299-8995
                                      thomas_lutazi@pr21.com

SOURCE Pitney Bowes Capital Services and Bowstreet

CONTACT: Ann Kelly of Bowstreet, 603-559-1557, akelly@bowstreet.com; Jeff Aubin of Beaupre & Co. Public Relations Inc., 603-559-5838, jaubin@beaupre.com, for Bowstreet; elcom, inc., Investor Relations, invrel@elcom.com, Voicemail, 781-501-4094; Chris Barber of Edelman Public Relations, 617-878-2005, Chris_Barber@Edelman.com, for elcom, inc.; Kelly O'Brien of Pitney Bowes Capital Services, 203-922-4291, kobrien@pbfs.com; or Thomas Lutazi of PR 21, 212-299-8995, thomas_lutazi@pr21.com, for Pitney Bowes Capital Services/