Contract Win

Embargoed Release: 07:00hrs 29th March 2004

                                  Sopheon Plc                                  

                                  (`sopheon')                                  

  Teijin Twaron Chooses Sopheon Solution to Help Drive Innovation and Enable   
       Focus On New Product Concepts With Best Chance Of Market Success        

Fiber Producer Uses Accolade Functionality to

              Collect and Evaluate Product and Application Ideas               

MINNEAPOLIS and LONDON_March 29, 2004_Sopheon, the international software and
services company, announced today that Teijin Twaron (the `company'), the
international supplier of super-strong fibers used in a wide range of
applications to strengthen and protect products, has implemented a core
component of the Sopheon Accolade product development system. The software's
capabilities are being used by the company's Innovation Support Team (IST) to
collect, screen and advance ideas for new products and applications submitted
by the company's 1,100 employees.

Teijin Twaron's para-aramid polymer, yarn, fiber and pulp products, marketed
globally under the trade name Twaron, are used in dozens of applications
ranging from bullet-resistant vests to earthquake resistant buildings. In 2001,
Teijin Twaron launched a broad strategic growth initiative that included a
project to increase manufacturing capacity. In 2002, it also established the
IST in Arnhem, Netherlands, chartering it to expand applications for Twaron
products worldwide. The IST subsequently elected to adopt the widely used
Stage-Gate product development process methodology. Accolade's idea management
module was chosen to support the front end of the Stage-Gate process by
facilitating the generation, collection and analysis of new product and
application ideas.

Accolade's functionality is strengthening idea management at Teijin Twaron by
simplifying the idea submission process and making it broadly available via the
company's intranet. The easy-to-follow procedure encourages employees to
continuously add ideas for new products and applications into Teijin's
Innovation Database. Once entered, ideas are channeled into an automated
tracking system, as well as archived for ongoing access and possible reuse.
Built-in decision-support capabilities are designed to ensure objective and
thorough assessment of each idea submitted according to such criteria as
strategic fit, competitive advantage, technical feasibility and market
potential. System components include customizable scorecards that solicit,
record and tally idea evaluations.

'Teijin Twaron is constantly striving to improve the performance of its
products and actively support its customers with the development of new
products and application areas,' said Otto Grabandt, chairman of Teijin
Twaron's IST. 'The selection of Sopheon's solution was a practical extension of
our implementation of Stage-Gate and the fact that Accolade provides the kind
of structured idea management process we deem essential to building a system
for sustainable innovation. Further bolstering our decision was Accolade's
out-of-the-box functionality and ease-of-use, the fact that it could be quickly
implemented, and Sopheon's thorough, practical understanding of the innovation
process.'

Recently completed research by strategy and business process advisor Deloitte
Consulting points to the growing importance of the focus on innovation
reflected in Teijin Twaron's idea management initiative. The study, which
encompassed data from nearly 650 leading manufacturers around the globe,
concluded that by 2010, products representing more than 70 percent of today's
sales will be obsolete due to changing customer demands and competitive
offerings. Study participants cited launching new products and services as the
number one driver of revenue growth. The magnitude of the innovation challenge
implicit to these findings is evident in the conclusion of other recent
research that determined it takes nearly 300 ideas to achieve a single
successful product.

'There's little mystery about why innovation is becoming a top strategic issue
for senior executives around the world,' said Andy Michuda, chief executive
officer of Sopheon. 'Companies that continue to cling to the old paradigm of
focusing on cost reduction instead of revenue growth not only risk falling out
of favor with investors, they will soon no longer be able to compete. Teijin
Twaron is a market leader that recognizes the link between innovation and value
creation. We are delighted that our solution has been made a principal
component of Teijin Twaron's strategic roadmap for developing a corporate
culture where ideas can be developed and exploited.'

Teijin Twaron is the latest in a growing number of fiber and textile
manufacturers that have adopted the capabilities of Sopheon's Accolade system.
Sopheon recently announced that Austria-based Lenzing, a global manufacturer of
cellulose fiber, and Unifi, a U.S.-based producer of textured yarns, had also
licensed Accolade software.

Sopheon Accolade® is a registered trademark of Sopheon plc.

All other trademarks and registered trademarks are the sole

property of their respective owners.

About Teijin Twaron

Teijin Twaron is the global manufacturer of Twaron para-aramid, a super-strong
fiber that is chosen by an increasing number of high-tech industries to
strengthen and protect their products. Teijin Twaron is a member of the Teijin
Group. Teijin is a global, technology-driven company, listed on the Tokyo Stock
Exchange with a market capitalization of USD 2.5 billion. It operates in five
main business segments: fibers and textiles; films and plastics; pharmaceutical
and home health care; machinery and engineering and new products and other
businesses, with an aggregate turnover of USD 7.3 billion. Teijin has
approximately 24,000 employees worldwide. For more information, please visit
www.twaron.com.

About Sopheon

Sopheon (LSE: SPE) is an international provider of software and services. The
Sopheon Accolade product development system automates gate- or phase-based
product development processes and provides strategic decision support that
allows companies to improve innovation, cut product development spending waste
and shorten time-to-market. Sopheon's Monitor software operates as a 'reading
robot' that automatically reviews, filters, analyzes and pushes relevant
content to healthcare and engineering professionals to enable effective
compliance with protocols, standards and regulations. Sopheon is listed on the
AIM Market of the London Stock Exchange and on the Euronext in the Netherlands.
For more information, please visit www.sopheon.com.

                                     -End-                                     

For further information contact:

Barry Mence, Chairman  Sopheon plc                  Tel : + 44 (0) 1483 685   
                                                    735                       
Arif Karimjee, CFO                                                            
                                                                              
Andrew Tan             Hansard Communications       Tel : + 44 (0) 207 245    
                                                    1100                      
                                                                              
Barbara Jansen         Citigate First Financial     Tel : + 31 (0) 205 754 010