Datasweep Presents at HP Asia Pacific Manufacturing Symposium.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

HP Asia Pacific Manufacturing Symposium 2003

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 2003

Operations Performance Management Leader and Member of Keystone Alliance Reviews Benefits of MES for Automotive Manufacturing

Datasweep(R), Inc., the leader in operations performance management solutions for manufacturers, today announced that Sean Ward, vice president of Worldwide Field Operations at Datasweep, is presenting details about Datasweep's solutions that support key concerns in the automotive industry, such as operational visibility, traceability and end-of-life management, at the HP Asia Pacific Manufacturing Symposium 2003 in Bangkok on December 16-17, 2003. Datasweep was selected to present as a key partner in the Keystone Alliance, an alliance of industry leaders Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Microsoft and chosen application partners.

Mr. Ward's presentation reviews the current challenges facing manufacturers in the automotive industry, and how Datasweep's solutions are designed to help manufacturers extend, share, validate, control and integrate process and production management from new product introduction through returns, repair, end-of-life and disposal. Mr. Ward will focus on key concerns such as regulatory compliance and visibility across suppliers and manufacturing.

"Leading manufacturers worldwide have chosen Datasweep solutions to prevent non-conformances before they happen, and to track and trace manufacturing materials across the product lifecycle as well as throughout the supply chain," said Sean Ward. "Datasweep solutions bring real-time, bi-directional and unit-based product histories, as well as proven success in visibility, traceability and corrective actions, to facilitate continuous quality and help automotive OEMs and suppliers comply with regulatory requirements such as the TREAD Act."

"Automakers are accelerating In-Line Vehicle Sequencing (ILVS). By 2010, more than 70% of a vehicle's content will be sequenced," said Kevin Mixer in the AMR Research Alert, November 14, 2003. "Suppliers need to increase investments in sequencing, lean, and part traceability to meet pending ILVS demand...Manufacturers will need to capture product and process traceability information to not only track parts across the entire manufacturing process, but also capture compliance manufacturing data for the federal TREAD Act. Part or product traceability is a natural part of manufacturing execution systems." Datasweep was named as a manufacturing execution vendor starting to take on ILVS.

The Keystone Alliance brings proven solutions, customized services and best-of-breed partners and technologies to the manufacturing industry in Asia Pacific, based on affordable, industry-standard building blocks. The Keystone Alliance initiative focuses on manufacturing verticals such as high tech, automotive, pharmaceuticals and bio-tech in Asia Pacific. The Datasweep(R) Advantage(TM) suite was selected by the Keystone Alliance as the cornerstone manufacturing solution in a bundled offering of solutions and platforms designed to reduce cost, speed time-to-market and address the need for competitive advantage. Datasweep was selected due to its proven expertise in the Asia Pacific market, and for its collaborative, web-based product solution that addresses critical needs in the manufacturing industry.

About Datasweep

Datasweep is the leader in operations performance management solutions for manufacturers. Datasweep solutions uniquely enable global manufacturers to collect, aggregate, analyze and act on product and operational data from the entire product lifecycle and supply chain, improving process efficiencies and product quality, reducing product lifecycle costs and ensuring regulatory compliance. Headquartered in San Jose, California, Datasweep serves customers in high-tech, life sciences, automotive, telecommunications and other industries, including Flextronics International, Ltd. (FLEX), General Electric (GE), Harris Corporation (HRS), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), KLA-Tencor Corporation (KLAC), Lucent (LU), Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. (SI), SonoSite (SONO), St. Jude Medical (SJM) and ZF Meritor. Additional information can be found on the Internet at www.datasweep.com.

Datasweep is a registered trademark of Datasweep, Inc. Advantage is a trademark of Datasweep, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.