Corus Expands Investment In Knowledge-Based Technology - To Add More Customer-Value.

Business/Technology Editors

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

Knowledge Technologies International (KTI) wins new Corus order

for software, maintenance and consulting

Knowledge Technologies International (KTI) today announces that Corus, the company formed from a merger between British Steel and Hoogovens, has significantly expanded its use of KTI software, maintenance and consulting. The KBO Environment(TM) with `ICAD(R) Built In' - is being used by Corus Automotive Engineering (CorusAE) to give added value to existing and potential automotive customers. KTI's The KBO Environment is the leading technology in this field, allowing companies to consistently bring their `best ever team' of experts to every design, intuitively and automatically.

The CorusAE was formed by the former British Steel company to expand their involvement with vehicle manufacturers early in the design development phase, helping them to use steel in the most cost and mass efficient ways. It was created in response to the impressive results of the $22 million Ultra Light Steel Auto Body (ULSAB) project (www.ulsab.org) set up by a consortium of 35 steelmakers from 18 countries which demonstrated how innovative design and manufacturing technologies could provide important savings in body mass while improving crash worthiness, chassis stiffness and ride.

CorusAE is using KTI's technology to not only increase the value of its customer service but as a technology demonstrator to sell the benefits of advanced manufacturing techniques such as Tailor Welded Blanks and Hydroforming. Tailor Welded Blanks achieve mass reduction and parts consolidation by laser welding together different thicknesses and grades of steel sheet prior to pressing them into body panels, thus eliminating the need for supplementary reinforcements. Hydroforming is a manufacturing process where a steel tube is expanded inside a die using fluid pressure to achieve a final geometry, achieving mass reduction and parts consolidation. CorusAE is only able to offer this service by using the latest Knowledge-Based Organization (KBO) technology from KTI.

The project is led by Head of Product Development at CorusAE, Richard Jones. With The KBO Environment as the enabler, he has married his team's expertise in automotive engineering with Corus' huge expertise in specialist steels. Its customers' manufacturing rules are then added to complete the equation. In use, The KBO Environment alerts engineers to the mechanical, manufacturing, spatial, mass, performance or legislative implications of any change, freeing them to be creative. The result: truly optimized designs using the most appropriate steels and manufacturing methods.

According to Professor Jon King, Research Director, CorusAE: "The initial response by manufacturers to CorusAE has been so strong and enthusiastic that we have committed to expanding the service. We will shortly be able to roll-out the applications that we have developed with KTI's help, for the benefit of our major customers and we are already in advanced talks with several."

Garreth Evans, C.E.O, Knowledge Technologies International, commented: "This expanded use of knowledge-based technology by Corus is an inevitable consequence of their desire to add customer value and increase the use and performance of steel in automotive applications. If you add knowledge to your products, you add benefits. Corus has done this and, quite rightly, its lead in this field will allow it and its customers to reap the rewards."

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 United States, Europe and Asia. KTI's world-wide client base includes Airbus Industrie, AP Parts, Benetton Formula 1, BAE SYSTEMS, 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, February 2-3rd 2000 and the next International KBO Conference in Florida 7-9th November, 2000, see: www.KBOworld.com.

About Corus

Corus was formed in October 1999 from the merger of British Steel and Hoogovens. The group is now the third largest steel maker in the world with plants in the UK, Holland, Germany, US and Canada, with a sales volume of 23 million tonnes annually and turnover of $15 billion (9.4 billion pounds sterling). Corus is a true multi-metals supplier with a product portfolio including Carbon Steels, Stainless Steels and Aluminum.

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.