COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 30, 1998 -- Four Ohio companies that traveled to Brazil as part of American Electric Power's (NYSE:AEP) export assistance program anticipate sales of more than $1 million in medical equipment and services to Brazilians during the next year. The four companies AEP sponsored at the Hospitalar '98 medical show in Sao Paulo last month included Atromick International Inc. of Columbus, Health Care Logistics of Circleville, Kennedy Manufacturing of Van Wert and Neoprobe Corp. of Dublin. AEP and the Ohio Department of Development worked together to provide additional support to participants at the four-day event which attracted about 500 international exhibitors and 50,000 visitors from South America.The state of Ohio, assisted by its Sao Paulo office, also arranged a preshow briefing on the Brazilian market and answered questions. Hospitalar '98 provided Kennedy Manufacturing the opportunity to test the medical carts and mobile workstations of its Blue Bell Bio-Medical Inc. subsidiary. John Aycock, marketing manager, said the company obtained valuable market information and learned they will need to modify their product to accommodate different market demands in Brazil. "The trade show lived up to our hopes and expectations with regard to both quantity and quality of contacts," Aycock said. Atromick, a privately held company with 150 employees, sells medication carts and medication distribution systems for hospitals.The company said the trade show was such a success, it plans to participate in AEP's upcoming trade mission in Quebec, Canada. "This was the first trade show in which I had so much success," said Nadir Benouali, Atromick's international sales and marketing director. "Our staff was extremely busy. The minute we got back from the trip, hospitals were sending faxes and asking when can we come back to do demonstrations. It's been overwhelming." Atromick employees are returning to Sao Paulo on Friday for a 16-day trip to visit the 144 hospitals interested in learning more about their product, Benouali said. Health Care Logistics, which assembles products and resells items such as storage systems, bins, unit dose supplies and tablet crushers, used the trade mission '98 to provide additional training to the sales representative they located in Brazil last year.The company said it obtained more than 400 sales leads at Hospitalar '98. Neoprobe Corp. participated in the trade mission to find a distributor for its product line and to test the Brazilian market.The company has 60 employees and manufactures a hand-held radioisotope detector system for cancer that is primarily used during breast surgery. Neoprobe also offers a medical device instrument for the intraoperative detection of radiation. Dana Thomas, the company's director of global distribution, said the response from potential customers was tremendous. He said Neoprobe will return to Brazil next month to give a seminar on the company's technology. Since 1993, AEP's Going Global program has helped more than 120 industrial customers gain experience in international trade markets in Mexico, Brazil and Canada. As part of the program, AEP representatives schedule individual appointments, provide market research, arrange briefings, locate translators, coordinate logistical support and attend trade shows to provide on-site support. AEP also shares a portion of the costs for some events. Customers unable to attend trade shows and missions are invited to participate in trade consultations and seminars. A trip mission to Mexico City, scheduled for Oct. 19-23, will wrap up this year's trade events. The registration deadline was July 17. A schedule of trade shows for 1999 will be released soon, said Christine Sorg, the program's coordinator. Further information on Going Global is available by calling Sorg at 614/883-7722. AEP, a global energy company, is one of the United States' largest investor-owned utilities, providing energy to 3 million customers in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. AEP has holdings in the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Australia. Wholly owned subsidiaries provide power engineering, energy consulting and energy management services around the world. The company is based in Columbus, Ohio. On Dec. 22, 1997, AEP announced a definitive merger agreement for a tax-free, stock-for-stock transaction with Central and South West Corp., a public utility holding company based in Dallas.