Norbord Partners With Ivara to Increase Asset Reliability

BURLINGTON, Ontario, (May 23, 2006) –Ivara Corporation, an industry leader and innovator in asset reliability solutions, today announced that Norbord, an international producer of wood-based panels, has selected Ivara’s integrated enterprise asset management (EAM) and EXP reliability solution to improve asset performance and reliability.  One of the world’s largest producers of oriented strand board (OSB), Norbord will implement the Ivara solution at its 12 mill locations in North America.

Since 1998, Norbord has tripled its capacity through significant investment in the acquisition of additional mills, the construction of new mills, and the expansion of existing operations.  To facilitate further growth – as well as improving production efficiency and reducing operating costs – Norbord has made Ivara’s integrated EAM and EXP solution an important part of its strategic plan to introduce consistent maintenance practices and enhance the reliability of its physical assets.

Ivara’s EAM offering includes comprehensive functionality in the areas of asset management, work planning and scheduling, spare parts inventory management, purchasing, receiving and invoicing.  Ivara EXP helps to make maintenance more effective by enabling a proactive, health-based approach to asset care through a focus on asset reliability.  Equally important to Norbord, the Ivara software is easy to learn and use, ensuring a greater acceptance by all types of users with varied levels of computer experience.

“As a capital-intensive organization, Norbord recognizes that increasing the reliability of our assets is an outstanding way to improve production and reduce operating costs,” said Bob Jackson, vice president, Information Technology at Norbord.  “Ivara’s software and the expertise of their team, give us the tools we need to take our maintenance practices to an important new level of effectiveness.”

“Ivara is delighted to be a part of Norbord’s long-term approach to asset management,” said Gerry Bleau, Ivara’s chief executive officer.  “Their enthusiasm, at every level of the organization, for the benefits of improving asset reliability, makes them an outstanding colleague.  We look forward to helping Norbord achieve the considerable benefits of their new approach to maintenance.”

About Norbord

Norbord Inc. is an international producer of wood-based panels with assets of $1.3 billion.  They employ approximately 2,700 people at 16 plant locations in the United States, Europe and Canada and are one of the world’s largest producers of oriented strand board (OSB).  In addition to OSB, Norbord manufactures particleboard, medium density fiberboard (MDF), hardwood plywood, I-joists and related value-added products. Norbord is a publicly-traded company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NBD.  For more information, visit the company’s website at www.norbord.com

About Ivara

A leader in asset reliability solutions, Ivara helps capital intensive companies improve operational performance by better managing the reliability of their plant assets.  Ivara’s unique methodology implements reliability one asset at a time, resulting in a high financial impact that is quickly realized.  By putting a proactive asset reliability process in place and focusing on changing people’s behavior and activities, Ivara helps transition organizations to proactively managing asset health.  For more information about Ivara, visit www.ivara.com