sql query

Hi Everyone, A quick question ! If I have a partnum on a table which is char(12) and the part number is right justified, so when you do a select statement on the field you get prevailing spaces, how do I get rid of the spaces ? Example select partnum from prodrec result: " 6789012" I need to get the result with no spaces (I cannot alter the table either) "6789012" I am running informix version 4.00 standard engine (I know its old) on an AIX version 4.3 Thanks for your help in advance ! Regards Will