Formation Systems Announces Agreement with Valspar Corporation; Formation Workbench To Provide Integrated Tools for Leading Paint Manufacturer.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 9, 1997--Formation Systems, Inc. (FSI) today announced that it has signed an agreement with The Valspar Corporation, a leading manufacturer of paints and coatings with revenues of approximately $1 billion, to license its Formation Workbench product. The agreement calls for Valspar and FSI to work together to address Valspar's Enterprise Formula Management requirements, complete development of the software, integrate Formation Workbench into Valspar's Oracle GEMMS manufacturing system and install Formation's software worldwide throughout Valspar's manufacturing facilities.

Formation Workbench, the first in a new category called Computer Aided Formulation (CAF), is designed to help formula-based manufacturers like Valspar create, control, distribute and manage the formulas used to run their businesses. Valspar is in the process of installing an HP9000 open system for all of its manufacturing locations, replacing its proprietary Unisys system. "GEMMS offers a good formula package but not a formulation package," stated Jim Johnson, Director of Information Systems for The Valspar Corporation. "We chose Formation Workbench to bridge that gap and ensure that we can produce the same exact product for our customers from all our sites, regardless of where those sites are geographically located. We expect Formation Workbench, with its integration to GEMMS, to enable us to more effectively develop and manage formulas -- and to more efficiently deliver products to our customers worldwide," Johnson concluded.

This agreement, which capitalizes on the Formation's knowledge of the business problems of process manufacturers, also positions Formation Systems as the first provider of an Enterprise Formula Management system. According to Larry Brandenburger, Valspar's Vice President of Research and Development, "Valspar is committed to advancing the technology we employ, reducing volatile organic content and making our systems more cost effective. Success in today's coatings market requires us to more effectively manage both our formulas and technology better -- and to more effectively produce our products. We believe Formation Workbench will help us to formulate faster, optimize costs and create the highest quality formulas at the lowest cost."

"We are excited about the opportunity to work with Valspar and look forward to helping them achieve more rapid, predictable and dependable results," stated Peter R. Shields, president and CEO. "The combination of our industry knowledge and unique product design allows us to offer a comprehensive software solution in a critical area of process manufacturing which has, so far, been ignored. This solution will enable our customers to achieve better results through more effective management of the work processes that encompass the life-cycle of a product formula," he concluded.

Formation Workbench is the first product that provides the tools formulators need to manage product formulations across the enterprise. Formation Workbench: 1) Reduces costs and time to market by providing formulators with up-to-date tools and information, 2) Is a networked product that facilitates the interchange of formulas and ideas among laboratory professionals across the organization, 3) Allows lab formulators to be more responsive to changing customer requirements and 4) Assists process manufacturers in complying with regulations and regulatory agencies.

Formation Workbench is designed to run under either Windows 95 or Windows NT. It is user-definable, offers OLE Automation, compatibility with most 4GL tools, and an object-oriented application layer that allows great flexibility in product design. The product provides an enterprise repository for all formulas and specifications - and will link to the Manufacturing Execution, Materials Requirements Planning, LIMS and Manufacturing Control packages currently marketed.

Formation Workbench is built on a modern four level architecture and supports Windows 95 standards including drag and drop objects, wizards and scalable frames. Workbench contains a colorful user interface that incorporates splash screens and buttons in lieu of numbered menus. The calculation layer is a robust, high speed engine capable of performing multivariate optimizations.

Formation Systems, Inc. is a developer of products and services that increase the proficiency of laboratories throughout large process enterprises, globally. The company is privately held and headquartered in Boston, MA. The principals of Formation Systems were the original principals of Datalogix International.

CONTACT: Creative Marketing Group

Marti Colwell, 619/598-8988

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