GKN company, Engage, Harnesses Knowledge Technology; Knowledge Technologies International Helps Engage Harness Its Corporate Knowledge to Provide Complete Engineering Solutions.

Business/Technology Editors

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

Engage, a GKN company, has launched a new initiative to provide knowledge-based engineering solutions to clients such as Daimler Chrysler Aerospace, Lockheed Martin, Shorts, Bombardier, Jaguar and Lotus Cars. The service is based on the former GKN Westland Design Services and Westland System Assessment companies, now re-named `Engage' in order to highlight its innovative use of knowledge-based technology. Its stated aim: to deliver `closely engineered solutions' spanning the product life-cycle, from initial product identification to in-service support. The technology Engage will use to capture and deploy its hundreds of man years of engineering expertise is The KBO Environment(TM) with `ICAD(R) Built In' from Knowledge Technologies International (KTI).

Already in use at the majority of the world's major aerospace and automotive OEMs, the KBO Environment is being pioneered by Engage in its role as a leading aerospace design services organization. KTI's The KBO Environment is the world's most advanced and best-proven software tool for the intuitive management of complex processes. It enables a user to harness product definitions along with the knowledge base of its experts, product rules, performance data, legislative and safety codes and design best practices which it then deploys to automate product development from concept to production. Gains in time and cost to develop new products are frequently in the order of 90%.

According to Garreth Evans, CEO, KTI: "This sale to Engage is significant because it highlights the continued growth of our knowledge-based solutions into the supply chain. Since we repositioned KTI as a solutions provider rather than a software marketing company, the investment needed for Tier One suppliers to realize ROI from the KBO Environment has reduced considerably and the results have grown even more impressively".

Tim Blurton, Head of Technology, Engage commented: "Our belief in `closely engineered solutions' positions Engage in intimate contact with customer processes. Clients are demanding leaner, quicker and more reactive solutions, requiring in-depth experience of requirements. Only a knowledge-based system will enable an optimized process to deliver the maximum benefits. KTI's KBO Environment is the world leader in this field."

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 - Comprehends, initiates, controls and dynamically (KPM) 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, Airbus UK, AP Parts, Benetton Formula 1, 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 forthcoming KBO Conferences, see: www.KBOworld.com.

About Engage

Engage, recently created from two businesses, GKN Westland Design Services and Westland System Assessment is a wholly owned subsidiary of GKN plc, a FTSE 100 listed company. Since 1994 the combined businesses have grown at a rate exceeding 30% per year and Engage is targeted to achieve a turnover of (pound)500M ($800M) within 5 years. It is already the UK's leading aerospace design services organization and is a major provider of engineering, resource and design services to companies in the aerospace industry including BAE Systems and GKN Westland. Engage is unique in the engineering services market offering industry complementary engineering support from concept through to the end of a product's life cycle. Engage and the Engineering Council have joined forces to promote the engineering profession and to celebrate Excellence in Engineering within the UK.

GKN was originally founded as the Dowlais Iron Company in 1759, incorporated in 1900 as Guest Keene and Nettlefolds Ltd, having earlier incorporated 2 other businesses. GKN's global sales exceeded(pound)3.7 billion ($5.92 billion) in 1998, with operations in more than 40 countries worldwide, employing over 36,000 people in its subsidiaries and 16,300 in joint ventures. Engage reports into GKN via GKN Aerospace (Chief Executive, Kevin Smith). For media enquiries please contact: Frank Bamford, Business Development Director, Engage, Tel: [phone] e-mail: [e-mail] web: http://www.engage-gkn.com