Toshiba Corp. said Monday it has won a $12 million contract to supply the Swedish postal service with advanced mail-sorting equipment.

In June 2004, the electronics maker will start delivering eight Series TT-1000 systems, each equipped with an optical character reader and video coding system, Toshiba said in a news release.

The mail-sorting systems scan mail and can recognize handwritten or printed addresses, print appropriate bar codes onto envelopes and use bar code information to sort mail into stacks on the basis of destination.

Each unit can handle up to 36,000 pieces of mail per hour, the company said.