National Instruments to Reduce prices on all product lines by 10-15% in Australia and New Zealand

SYDNEY, New South Wales, Australia - 12th January 2004 - the continuing climb of the Australian dollar and the subsequent positive impact on the US-Australian exchange rate, has enabled National Instruments Oceania to reduce prices on all product lines by 10-15% in Australia and New Zealand.

Jeremy Carter, National Instruments Oceania General Manager stated that, "the price reduction will have a tremendous impact on the bottom lines of our customers. Not only will customers continue to increase productivity and get to market more quickly by using NI products, they will also record significant cost savings". The new Oceania pricing structure, when combined with the new lower pricing of National Instruments data acquisition cards, means customers can save up to 30% on last year's data acquisition prices. Low cost multifunction analog PCI data acquisition cards now start from $580 AUD ex tax. With the forecast that the Australian dollar will climb even further in 2004, there is a strong possibility that prices will decrease again which adds up to even more good news for National Instruments customers.

Other Key Developments in Australia

Oceania Branch Records Record Performance in 2003 - 2003 saw National Instruments Oceania branch record double digit sales growth and establish a new record for sales in the region. Oceania General Manager, Jeremy Carter, was pleased with the result and excited about opportunities for continued growth in the region; "after spending 14 years in Melbourne, our headquarters were relocated to Sydney at the end of 2002. Relocating required us to spend five months in Sydney located in a temporary office while our new office in North Ryde was outfitted. It is a testament to the professionalism and diligence of our new staff that we were able to continue to deliver strong sales growth through this adversity. When you belong to an organization that has recorded double digit growth for the first 26 years of its existence, the bar is set high, so we are obviously pleased with the result". Mr. Carter highlighted that National Instruments was forging ahead in Asia with all branches recording double digit growth of various levels in 2003. "The opportunities for National Instruments in Asia are limitless" Mr Carter emphasized. "It is such an exciting and dynamic region with world class R&D and manufacturing - the sort of industries where National Instruments can have a huge impact in reducing costs and improving productivity. Emerging markets such as China and India are really starting to understand the message of virtual instrumentation for their test and measurement and industrial automation requirements. Even in relatively mature markets such as Japan, National Instruments is still recording double-digit growth."

New Training Facility

National Instruments Oceania is now able to conduct LabVIEW training at its new headquarters in Byfield St, North Ryde. The state of the art training facility has been designed to assist student/trainer interaction and personalised instruction. Jeremy Taylor, Applications Engineer, emphasized "that by running the courses onsite, National Instruments could deliver a product that they had complete control over, which would assist the organization to deliver training of the highest standard".

Mr. Taylor added; "National Instruments instructor-led training courses are more than lectures; they offer hands-on experience developing measurement and automation applications. In our classes, each student is given access to the hardware and software discussed in the course and led through the course manual in a highly methodical manner. The environment for such a technical training course will obviously have a major bearing on what attendees take away from it. That is why I am so thrilled with this facility. The ambience of the room promotes friendly interaction and learning. Feedback from attendees so far indicates the new facility is extremely popular". For 2004, the training room has also been outfitted with the latest PXI industrial computers.

Other Key Developments in New Zealand

Incentive for first time customers - To celebrate a record performance in New Zealand in 2003, National Instruments would like to offer new customers to NI, a 10% discount on their first purchase in 2004. This incentive is valid until the end of March, 2004 and is on top of the 10-15% price reduction which has recently been put in place on all National Instruments products due to the advancing New Zealand dollar.

National Instruments Operating in New Zealand Without Distributors - Since early 2003, National Instruments has been operating directly in New Zealand without the assistance of distributors. The change has been a factor in the organization recording its best ever result in New Zealand in 2003. Jeremy Carter, Oceania General Manager, emphasised "National Instruments wants to help more customers in the New Zealand market save time and money on building test, measurement and automation systems in the coming years. By having complete control over the sales, marketing and distribution process, we can ensure customers will receive a consistently high level of service and support".