Corus Automotive Engineering Win KBO Prize for Innovation; Corus Automotive Engineering's Pioneering Tool For Manufacturing Feasibility Wins Global `Knowledge Prize' for Innovation.

Business/Technology Editors and Automotive Writers

BOSTON--(AutomotiveWire)--Sept. 7, 2000

Corus, the international metals supplier formed from the merger of British Steel and Hoogovens in October 1999, are the winners of this year's international Knowledge-Based Organization (KBO) Prize. The prize(1), competed for by many of the world's leading automotive and aerospace manufacturers, is sponsored by Knowledge Technologies International (KTI) and is awarded annually to the company judged to have developed the most innovative application using KTI's advanced knowledge-based engineering system, The KBO Environment(tm) with `ICAD(R) built-in'.

Corus Automotive Engineering (CorusAE) have pioneered the use of KTI's state of the art design automation software in assessing the manufacturing feasibility of hydroformed automotive components. Hydroforming, a metal forming process, is an exciting, emerging new technology that is still under-exploited in the automotive industry, despite its potential to reduce component mass and cost, and improve performance. CorusAE realised that one of the main inhibitors to widespread deployment of hydroforming was the lack of rapid tools for the assessment of component manufacturability. Currently, only assessment by experts in hydroforming manufacturing or Finite Element Analysis of the manufacturing process can yield answers of the accuracy required for confident decision-making. The burden placed on a few experts worldwide and the complexity of the analysis process mean that both of these options have long lead times.

With the need to commit major resources and capital expenditure to a particular component design, manufacturers understandably `play safe' with more traditional techniques, such as stamping. By using The KBO Environment technology to automate the analysis process, a preliminary assessment of manufacturing feasibility to a good degree of confidence can be achieved very quickly. Sectional analysis is the fundamental basis of initial manufacturing feasibility analysis, and using KBE one hundred sections may be cut and analyzed in under an hour. The same process carried out manually on only 5-10 sections may take in excess of 8 hours. Automation of the process enables geometry transition to be measured - a feature not possible with manual CAD techniques - and allows design evolution to be accelerated by a factor of 8-10. In addition to this, the rigorous nature of automated analysis and the traceability afforded through explicitly-defined engineering rules provide crucial data on which to base a decision.

The KBO prize was awarded to CorusAE for their creative approach in defining and solving a market need, the strategic nature of the application to their business, and the demonstration of clear return on investment and cost savings to be gained both by CorusAE and their customers. In announcing the award at the 12th International ICAD Users' Group (IIUG) Conference in Detroit, KTI Marketing Director, Michele Turcotte, said `We are delighted to be associated with customers like CorusAE, who are achieving engineering excellence by applying The KBO Environment technology in an innovative and strategic way.'

According to Jeff Edington, Executive Director, Technology, 'This is a great example of technology for profit. We at Corus have a long-term commitment to the knowledge-based environment and we recognise that KBE is a powerful integrator for our materials, processing and applications technologies. With our KBE capability, we can deliver superior, differentiated solutions to our customers.'

Pat Jordan of Honeywell (Allied Signals), the current IIUG Chair, said of the shortlisted presentations for the KBO Prize, "the standard is now so high that we're having to think about potential projects for next year almost as soon as this year's Conference is ended."

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 Process Modeler (KPM) -- Comprehends, initiates, controls and dynamically 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 technology 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.

Registered in Luxembourg the company operates from offices across the USA, Europe and Asia. KTI's world-wide client base includes Airbus Industrie, AP Parts, Benetton Formula 1, Airbus, Corus, Daelim, Fiat, Ford, GM, IPTN, Jaguar Cars, Lotus Cars, Pratt & Whitney, Ricardo, Rolls-Royce, Sikorsky, Tata, Trico and many others. For more details see: www.KTIworld.com. Note: KTI initiated and is prime sponsor of the KBO conference. Sponsors have included Sun, Hewlett-Packard and Silicon Graphics. For details on the recent European KBO conference in Paris, and future International KBO Conferences see: www.KBOworld.com.

About Corus

Corus was formed in October 1999 from the merger of British Steel and Koninklijke Hoogovens. The group is the third largest steelmaker in the world with manufacturing plants in the UK, Holland, Sweden, Germany, US and Canada, with a steel output of around 23 million tonnes annually and turnover of some (pound)9 billion. Corus is a true multi-metals company with a product portfolio including Carbon Steels, Stainless Steels and Aluminium.

About Corus Automotive Engineering

CorusAE was formed to support company strategy of increasing customer focus. The company recognized the importance of the automotive sector and wished to expand its involvement with vehicle manufacturers early in the design development phase, helping them to use steel in the most cost and mass efficient ways. Housed in a new, purpose built state-of-the-art building in Coventry, the heart of Britain's car manufacturing industry, CorusAE is a center of excellence with an important role in carrying out automotive projects both inside and outside the Company.

(1) The KBO Prize 2000 will be presented on the Corus stand at the Birmingham, UK Motor Show, 19-29 October.