Brazil's Hot 'Plane Maker, Embraer, Joins The Knowledge Revolution; Knowledge Technologies International Announces Major Sale of The KBO Environment.

Business/Technology Editors

LEXINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20 2000

Independent Brazilian company, Embraer, is the fourth largest commercial airplane manufacturer in the world and a Brazilian export leader. Lately it has set the regional airplane market alight with its stunning successes. Recently, it handed its rivals a crushing defeat at the Paris Air Show, when it announced sales of regional passenger jets worth more than US$6.6 Billion. It has a backlog of orders for its regional jets that range from 37 to 108-seat worth $20 billion, of which $8.6 billion are firm orders. Embraer is a world force in the regional jet market - a market that experts predict is going to continue massive growth - to the point that within two years Embraer may even dominate the market.

Now, in a move that's likely to create even more boardroom unease within its global rivals, Embraer has committed to becoming a Knowledge-Based Organization (KBO). And the technology they've chosen is the same as that used by the leaders in the aerospace industry - The KBO Environment(tm) with ICAD `built-in' from Knowledge Technologies International (KTI).

The agreement with KTI, valued at well-over $2 million, includes the first three releases of KTI's The KBO Environmenttm as well as training, methodology consulting - on-site, in Brazil - and application development support - outside Brazil. Initially, Embraer intends to use the technology to assist in the rapid design and prototyping of wire harnesses and to create a knowledge-based wing-component application, for ERJ-170/190 Program.

Additionally, Embraer will sponsor and facilitate Knowledge-Based Engineering (KBE) programs at Universities and colleges in Brazil to train tomorrow's generation of Knowledge Engineers.

Embraer will use the KBO Environment with ICAD built-in, launched in October 1998, to allow engineers to better capture and use their knowledge in order to create optimized designs by specifying function. It brings the `best ever team' of experts to any task freeing engineers and designers to be creative and makes corporate knowledge available in a useable form to marketers, sales teams, production managers and suppliers. Complex and expensive `what ifs' can be answered by the system. It brings the knowledge of an enterprise to any individual, answering the needs of companies to harness their Intellectual Capital to compete and survive. Using The KBO Environment, corporations can more efficiently build on the knowledge of their employees.

Commenting on this purchase, Jose Renato Oliveira Melo, Director of Engineering, said: "We looked very carefully for the technologies that would make us even more competitive and KTI's The KBO Environment was the clear choice as it has a proven return on investment. More importantly, we believe that we can deliver better, more competitive products in even tighter time-scales by adopting this kind of technology. Our mission is for Embraer to be the first choice for airlines worldwide selecting regional jets on the criteria of performance, quality and price. We know that KTI can help us achieve that goal".

Speaking in Lexington, Mass, KTI's CEO, Garreth Evans said: "It is extraordinary how far Embraer has come in such a short time. They have demonstrated that they have commitment, vision and tenacity and their aero-engineers are amongst the finest in the world. By capturing and deploying their skills and knowledge electronically, with our help, Embraer is assured of even more success. I salute them and thank them for their choice of KTI software and consulting support".

About The KBO Environment

KTI's The KBO Environment(tm) with `ICAD(R) Built In' is the advanced Knowledge-Based Organization (KBO) software tool for the intuitive management of complex processes. It enables a KBO to harness product definitions along with the knowledge base of its experts, product rules, performance data, legislative and safety codes and design best practices. It automates product development from concept to production. KTI's KBO technology has been proven in countless process automation applications for world-leading companies in automotive, aerospace and manufacturing industries providing the most advanced knowledge deployment environment and regularly provides returns on investment of over 100% and productivity gains in excess of 50%. The KBO Environment is a new family of KTI's Knowledge-Based Products comprising several inter-operative elements:

Knowledge-based       Comprehends, initiates, controls and dynamically
Process Modeler(KPM)  monitors complex and even fragmented
                      enterprise-wide processes
Knowledge Server      Easily captures and serves knowledge with
                      ('ICAD Built In')
Knowledge Portal      Intelligently searches for, delivers and
                      archives knowledge
Knowledge Browser     An intuitive environment to access and integrate
                      your KBO applications
Knowledge Backbone    Integrates distributed heterogeneous knowledge
                      sources

About KTI

KTI is the technical powerhouse behind the knowledge revolution and the world's most successful provider of software and services empowering the Knowledge-Based Organization (KBO). KTI's technology allows enterprises to capture their Intellectual Capital and deploy it intuitively to control complex processes. The benefits are massively compressed time scales, huge cost savings, enhanced creativity and optimized products, resulting in `audited', documented, repeatable and fully understood processes and best practices. KTI's technology is now considered by many companies to be a vital asset in the drive to constantly improve their offer and keep ahead of the competition. Using KTI's software, global market-leading companies in aerospace, automotive and other manufacturing industries have become pioneers in creating customer-driven products, right first time - every time.

www.ktiworld.com

About Embraer

With headquarters in Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil and subsidiaries and offices in the U.S, France, Australia and China, Embraer is a customer-oriented company with more than 30 years of experience in designing, manufacturing, selling and supporting aircraft for the world's commercial and defense markets. Founded in 1969, as a state owned company, Embraer was privatized in 1994 and employs more than 9,000 people. It is currently the fourth largest commercial aircraft manufacturer in the world and the largest exporter in Brazil.