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PRESS RELEASE 17 April 2008

BDS Launch UK’s Only Water-Resistant Cabinets - Giving Flood Protection to At-risk Businesses.

BDS Office Supplies Ltd (http://www.bdsoffice.com) is to launch a new range of water-resistant cabinets which will help protect vital documents and electronic media in flood-risk areas. The cabinets will be invaluable to companies such as Accountancy Firms for the safe storage of essential hard-copy documents, for example: Inland Revenue and Companies House returns. It is still a legal requirement for such documents to be kept in hard-copy format, often for many years.

In flooded areas, water damaged papers can only be restored by expensive document recovery processes. Until now, the alternative has been off-site storage or moving vital documents to the upper floors of buildings; neither of which is always practical.

The Trident® cabinets, manufactured by Schwab in the United States, are the first of their kind in the UK and only available from BDS Office Ltd. Not only are the cabinets water-resistant, they are also UL (Underwriters’ Laboratories) Rated to survive fire, impact, and explosion.

The cabinets look no different to a standard filing cabinet and are available in a choice of colours. This is where the similarity ends. Each drawer is individually encased by an inner steel drawer vault. A high-temperature material creates a seal where the inner vault, the drawer head, and outer wrapper meet. The external seamless construction increases the water-resistance.

Tests on the Trident® cabinets prove they will withstand immersion in water, are fire-resistant at temperatures exceeding 1700°F, impact-resistant (tested from a 30ft drop), and explosion-resistant at 2000°F. Each Trident® cabinet carries a lifetime guarantee and, in the event of fire, the cabinet will be replaced free of charge.

According to the Environment Agency, nearly 7,000 UK businesses suffered flooding in 2007, at a cost of £680 million in insurance claims. The Trident® cabinets will offer protected storage for vital documents such as Insurance Policies, Business Continuity Plans, Tax, NI and Personnel Records.

Electronic back-up tapes or other media can also be stored safely in the cabinets with the addition of the Media COOLER®. This is an insulated container which is designed to give further protection to electronic data. It fits inside one of the drawers of the cabinet, securing it against water ingress and fire damage.

Alison Cole, finance director of BDS Office says, “The Trident® cabinets are a real breakthrough in flood protection. We’re told flooding is going to become an even bigger risk with the change in our climate, and safe-guarding records is essential to the survival of every business. The loss of papers or electronic back-up media is always one of the biggest causes of disruption when a building is flooded.”

The Trident® Cabinets are currently available in two and four drawer models. There is a choice of three colours and finishes. For increased security, there is also a choice of locking options. The cabinets, available only from BDS Office Ltd, are priced at £1475 for the two drawer, and £2258 for the four drawer model. BDS Office Ltd is offering a discount of 25% for a limited period. More information about the Trident® cabinets can be found at http://www.bdsoffice.com/schwab.php.