Bermuda has been promised a faster and cheaper way to ship goods from America, after local company IBC launched its new service, Zip Express.

ZipX offers customers living in Bermuda a United States shipping address which enables easier ordering from catalogues and from the Internet.

The company has re-vamped its service and now claims that if goods arrive in its New York depot on one day with the correct paperwork, the goods could be at your door in as little as 48 hours.

The cost of the new service depends on weight, and the company say they will deliver anything from an envelope to bulky items right to the door.

And they say they have come up with a package that has already had their telephones ringing off the hook.

"We took a good look at the service we were offering and asked people what they thought about it,'' said Elizabeth Schaefer, project manager at IBC who has been instrumental in putting together the new service. "What we found was that people did not know we offered such a service and had never heard of what was then called the `personal forwarding service'.

"So after working on a better package, we changed the name and the launch is being marked with a multi-media campaign, in the paper, on the radio and television.'' The company say they found ways of improving the service by hosting a series of forums in which groups from all walks of life, from power shoppers to business men, were brought together to say what they wanted.

And that was an easier, cheaper and faster way to get goods back from the United States.

"The name was chosen not only because of the Zip codes, but also because it implies speed,'' said Glen Smith, president and chief executive officer of IBC.

"We have also launched our own ZipX web site which gives information about the service.'' The company hopes to make the site interactive by the end of the year, allowing customers to work out the cost of shipping and tax due for customs before they decide to order an item.

ZipX charges $14.95 for the first pound (this is the minimum charge) and then $3.95 for every pound after that up to a package weight of 30lbs. If the package weight is 31lbs or more, it is $14.95 for the first pound and then $2.95 for each pound after that.

The rate for mail, journals, magazines and catalogues is $3.75 a pound.

The ZipX service is also available in the UK and Canada. IBC was started 12 years ago by Mr. Smith as a local messenger company with five staff. The company now has 80 staff at its Hamilton headquarters and the company ships goods around the world.