Press Release 01/2013

Clean Business with 600,000 m3 of Clean Water: Natural Pool Pioneer BIOTOP on the Occasion of World Water Day World Water Day, called to life by the United Nations on March 22, 1993, celebrates its 20 th anniversary this year. The company BIOTOP Landschaftsgestaltung GmbH www.biotop-natural-pool.com, with its headquarters in Klosterneuburg, Austria, has been around slightly longer – 27 years. The worldwide organization and the Austrian company share a similar goal: to carefully use and protect the planet's precious resource, water. BIOTOP strives to fulfill this goal with 55 franchise partners across the globe that have dedicated themselves to the philosophy of the pioneer of natural swimming pools: to use the beauty and power of nature in designing water in the landscape for the benefit of people and their natural environment. The company uses only ecologically sustainable building components or recycling products.

Ten Times the Size of St. Peter's Square – That's How Many Ecological Pools Have Been Built WorldwideThe inventor of the natural swimming pool has successfully exported his idea worldwide. The Biotop partner network stretches from Europe to Australia, with joint revenues of roughly EUR 11 million. If one were to calculate the surface area of all the bio pools and natural pools built, one would arrive at an area that is more than ten times as large as St. Peter's Square in Rome – 400,000 m2, containing 600,000 m3 of water.

BIOTOP was the first to recognize that to be able to swim in pure natural water – or even just to gaze at it – in one's own garden would be the fulfillment of a dream. In the meantime, the use of chemicals in the garden, but particularly in swimming pools, has become increasingly unattractive for countless people.

For a long time a natural pool was the only alternative to a conventional chlorinated pool. In the meantime bio pools have also arrived on the scene and their market share is rising steadily. And with its Living Pool BIOTOP has developed a product that looks like a conventional pool, but is cleaned with both a bio filter and a phosphorus filter. Water that has been cleaned naturally is not only healthier for the population – some studies even detect a possible danger of cancer from chlorinated water – but also for the environment: conventional pools that are chlorinated regularly have to be emptied in the winter and filled again in early summer. Per pool an average of 60,000 liters of drinking water mixed with chemicals end up in the groundwater. With a bio pool there are no chemicals and the water remains in the pool all year round. And in addition a natural pool creates a further habitat for endangered species, like the tree frog.

Natural Pools a Hit in the USA, for the French the Bio Pool is ChicAfter its success in Europe and the promising introduction to the market in Australia and New Zealand, as the next step BIOTOP founder and managing director Peter Petrich is now ready to generate enthusiasm in North America for his ideas. "Queries from the USA come in daily, although we are not even active

there yet. That shows us that environmental consciousness is increasing globally and more and more people want to swim in non-chlorinated water. And after evaluating the queries we see that Americans want to swim in natural pools." Eight out of ten people who have shown interest want a natural pool in their gardens. The launch will take place step by step in Washington, Oregon and California. "The dimensions – not only the technical ones – are completely different in the USA than they are in Europe, so in implementing this step we will be very conscious of risks and not rush anything," Petrich said.

The challenge of succeeding in a new market can be demonstrated by Biotop's experience in France. After three years of intense groundwork the first fruits are finally being harvested in the country of pool lovers. The French, too, are discovering their green conscience and are now showing their readiness to dig a little bit deeper into their pockets for a "natural product". The first living pools are being planned in elegant suburban areas and an increasing number of French landscape companies are joining the Biotop partner network. To have a bio pool and to plan and build a bio pool is simply chic.

BIOTOP Landschaftsgestaltung GmbH

In 1987 BIOTOP Landschaftsgestaltung GmbH was the first company worldwide to introduce an ecological alternative to the conventional swimming pool to the market – the natural pool. Subsequently, the product was further developed and patented and received numerous awards. To this day Biotop remains Austria’s market leader in this field and together with its 55 licensees is also the number 1 worldwide. So far over 1,000 natural pools have been built by Biotop itself and more than 4,000 pools in cooperation with its partner companies. Today Biotop Natural Pools are built all over Europe, in the USA and even in New Zealand and Australia.Market leadership is maintained through consistent research and development of the products. The latest innovation is the Living Pool, which is a biological swimming pool, appealing to a new target group and already accounting for roughly 25% of total sales.The company is headquartered in Klosterneuburg near Vienna. Sustainability is an important aspect of its organizational culture, both on an economic and environmental level.

Key FiguresYear 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013Revenues (EUR million)

2.6 2.8 3.3 3.4 (actual) 3.7 (target)

Employees: 23

On the international level the BIOTOP Group achieved revenues of EUR 11 million in 2012 with a total of 250 employees and 55 partners.

Klosterneuburg, March 21, 2013 (5,000 characters)

Further information: Martina AignerBIOTOP Landschaftsgestaltung GmbHHauptstrasse 285A-3411 Klosterneuburg/Weidling

Tel.: +43 2243 30406-20m.aigner@biotop-gmbh.atwww.living-pool.eu

Photo 1

Captions:

Filling up a conventional pool of this size year for year requires an average of 50,000 liters of water. This Living Pool only has to be filled up once.

Photo 2

Biotop boss Peter Petrich:"A speedy turnaround in how we deal with water resources is a must."