Force Computers Commemorates 20 Years of Trailblazing in Embedded Computing.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 15, 2001

From a Two-Person Startup to a Market and Standards Leader,

Two Decades of Excellence in Embedded Technology Bear the

Hallmark of This Pioneering Enterprise

Force Computers, a Solectron company (NYSE:SLR) and a leader in embedded computing, this month commemorates 20 years of leadership in embedded computing. From VMEbus to CompactPCI(R) to Compact Packet-Switching Backplane (cPSB), Force sets the pace in developing and popularizing leading-edge embedded architectures. Today, Force is the global CompactPCI market leader (as determined by independent industry analysts) and a major VMEbus provider as well as a key designer/developer of customized board and system platforms for OEMs-like Alcatel, Ericsson and Siemens-in telecom, data com, industrial, command and control, medical and other uses.

"Since 1981, Force has blazed the trail in embedded computing, which continues to widen in scope and grow in scale," said Ajay Shah, president and CEO of Force Computers and executive vice president of Solectron Corporation. "Regardless of application or time-to-market requirements, we provide the embedded solutions OEMs need-when and where they need them. As proof, today we offer the only complete line of products that adheres to PICMG 2.16-an exciting, new standard for switch-fabric architecture applications."

Open standards created the opportunity

Sven A. Behrendt and Max Losel-both experienced technologists/marketers-anticipated that VMEbus, an architecture developed under them at a prior employer, would play the lead as the first open standard bus. To take advantage of their foresight, they founded Force Computers in Palo Alto, Calif., along with a German subsidiary, in October 1981 and opened the Munich design center a few months later. By 1985, their vision was fulfilled, as Force became one of the world's two biggest VMEbus suppliers.

A history of 'firsts'

Force's technological history can best be described as a history of "firsts." As an example, a 1990 partnership with Sun Microsystems led to the first SPARC(R) processor-based VMEbus products and later the first SPARC/CompactPCI platforms. Other firsts:

-- First 68020 "zero-wait-state," 68040 and 88000 RISC processor-based VMEbus
single board computers (SBCs)

-- VMEbus-, SBus- and PCI-interface ASICs with unique functionality

Past is prologue-the future looks bright

As a pioneer and promoter of open systems, Force continues to drive computer bus architecture standards in industry bodies like IEEE, ANSI and PICMG. For instance, Force is a key backer and early adopter of PICMG 2.16, the new cPSB standard that leverages existing Ethernet technology in a switch-fabric backplane architecture for third-generation (3G) wireless, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and other network infrastructure applications. And Force products offer cutting-edge technology right now:

-- Highly available Centellis(tm) CO 21000-12U series-first

productized PICMG 2.16, "five nines" system that also has NEBS

Level 3-tested FaultZone(tm) Technology

-- PICMG 2.16 Pentium(R) III, PowerPC(tm) and UltraSPARC-IIe

processor SBCs-only Force offers all three major processors

and only Force has compliant SPARC SBCs

-- The Sentinel(tm) chip, first "universal-mode" PCI-to-PCI

bridge, enabling SBCs to function in either system or

peripheral slots of a CompactPCI host

Force leads industry, merges with industry leader

No vendor can match Force as the only embedded computing solutions provider with a complete line of systems and SBCs that adheres to PICMG 2.16. Besides showing the way in standards, Force is No.1 in the CompactPCI market (source: Electronics Market Forecasters, Venture Development Corp., January 2001).

In addition, Force leads in electronics manufacturing services (EMS)-result of 1996 merger with first-place EMS provider Solectron Corporation-enabling increased strategic support for and stronger partnering to OEMs. In conjunction with Solectron, Force offers virtually unlimited manufacturing capacity at over 60 sites around the globe.

Going forward, the company sees a prosperous future. As the long-term trend of EMS outsourcing accelerates, Force is positioned to capture additional business by offering embedded design and manufacturing expertise as OEMs streamline resources and require quicker time-to-market. And Force continues to spearhead open standards, evidenced by its helping develop Arapahoe/3GIO, InifiniBand, PICMG 3.x and other next-generation architectures.

About Force Computers

Force Computers (www.forcecomputers.com) was founded in 1981 and is a leading designer and worldwide supplier of standard and custom systems and board-level computer platforms and services for the embedded market. The processor-independent company helps its customers develop embedded applications based on Alpha, MIPS, Pentium(R), PowerPC(tm), PowerQUICC(tm), SPARC(R), StrongARM and 68K(tm) technologies for embedded UNIX(R), Linux(tm), Windows NT(R) and real-time applications. Force supports VME, CompactPCI(R), PCI, PCI/ISA and PMC bus architectures as well as custom form factors. An ISO 9001 certified company, Force Computers practices Total Quality Management principles in all phases of the company's global operations. The company, along with its parent company, Solectron Corporation, is the 1997 winner of the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award for manufacturing. Force's corporate headquarters and Asia Pacific headquarters is located in San Jose, California. Force's European headquarters is located in Munich, Germany.

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