Enterprise Applications Technology Marches On - to the Tune of $220 Million in Planned Product Purchases at Kalthoff Spring 99.

CINCINNATI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 17, 1999--

Kalthoff Spring 99 facilitated $220 million of active project initiatives for manufacturing enterprise applications and engineering document and data management products in Philadelphia May 24-27.

Engineering, IT, and manufacturing professionals met with 55 vendors for non-stop, highly technical, private presentations throughout the three-day conference. It was Kalthoff International's largest Spring conference ever.

On site surveys peg PDM (Product Data Management) as the primary technology sought, followed by ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), Document Conversion, EDM (Engineering Document Management), Web, and CAD. Sixty-eight percent say their company will buy from one or more vendors met with at Kalthoff; one-third will purchase within six months, and all within two years. Vendors were very pleased with the event, citing a steady flow of high-caliber prospects. One-third of attendees represented companies with revenues exceeding $1 billion, 45% represented companies with revenues of $250 million and under.

Conference Highlights

A stellar cast of vendors and industry experts including J.D. Edwards, Cap Gemini, ROI Systems, Eigner + Partner, MatrixOne, and PC Docs/Fulcrum provided system solutions. (A complete list of vendors is available.) Conference sessions also received high marks. More than 60 sessions were offered. Web-based issues were very much in demand. Installation/integration, data vault issues, and best practices for document management sessions were also very popular. Keynote speaker, Herb G. Vinnicombe, Jr., CIO and VP of telecommunications company Lucent Technologies, pointed to the Internet for Lucent's future growth, saying "Time and Space are no longer relevant in today's business environment. A company must be able to be reached whenever, wherever the buyer pleases." Lucent Technologies recognized its need to quickly revolutionize its infrastructure and systems as separation from AT&T occurred.

Kalthoff International, based in Cincinnati, specializes in conducting highly focused technology forums that reduce the complexity of purchasing and integrating enterprise manufacturing systems. Since 1988, Kalthoff International events have been host to over 75 percent of the Fortune 1000 industrial firms.

Kalthoff Fall 99 takes place Oct. 11-14, Los Angeles Airport Hilton, California. More than 60 enterprise, EDM and PDM application vendors are expected to participate. And by all indications, Kalthoff Fall 99 will be the largest Kalthoff International event ever. For additional information, contact Kalthoff International by phone [phone]; fax [phone]; email [e-mail]; Web www.kalthoff.com. Editorial Press: Vendor Technical Specifications Books, Show Guides, and conference proceedings on CD ROM are available.