Mahr Federal Joins Joe Gibbs Racing Technology Team; Metrology Tools Provide Competitive Edge for NASCAR Winning Team.

Automotive Writers

PROVIDENCE, R.I.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 28, 2003

Mahr Federal Inc. has signed a multi-year sponsorship agreement with Joe Gibbs Racing, two-time winner of NASCAR's Winston Cup Championship, company officials announced today. Under the terms of the agreement, Mahr will install a number of its dimensional metrology systems at the JGR Raceshop headquarters in Huntersville, NC, and provide its expertise in precision measurement, in return for numerous promotional opportunities.

"Metrology is a relatively new concept in NASCAR racing which we believe can provide a tremendous technological advantage," said Craig Crossley, President of Mahr Federal. Equipment provided by Mahr includes some of the world's most advanced systems for the measurement of part dimension and geometry. Mahr has also made available their complete line of precision gages, from micrometers to high performance length products.

Use of Mahr metrology equipment has already provided JGR with a number of benefits for incoming part inspection. According to team owner, Joe Gibbs, "We now consider all parts bad until the Mahr equipment tells us otherwise."

And there are a lot of parts. According to CNC Manager, Mark Bringle, the JGR team manufactures hundreds of different parts for 200 motors and 30 different high-performance race cars in its Huntersville facility, and purchases many more from outside vendors. "Our cars run anywhere from 7500 to 9000 rpms for four hours straight. When you have a part inside a motor turning over 110 times a second at 20 G's of inertia, a lot can go wrong."

Using Mahr metrology equipment, JGR is working with vendors to make those parts better. Bringle cited one part that had an initial reject rate of more than 60% due to potential wear on an adjacent part. "We were able to work with the vendor to improve their manufacturing, and brought rejects to under 5%," he said.

But Crossley believes the benefits of metrology go far beyond initial inspection. "We are delighted to help JGR demonstrate the effectiveness of these sophisticated tools, and eager to see this level of measurement applied to all motor sports."

Advanced systems supplied by Mahr include: the Mahrform(tm) MMQ 44, a modular CNC system for measuring roundness; a Mahr Perthometer Concept surface finish and contour measuring system; an 828 PC Length Measuring Machine; and Mahr's latest multisensor system incorporating laser, optical and tactile probe measurement. The final test on the floor is to use the Primar MX4, a sophisticated system for the inspection of form and geometry on complex part shapes such as gears and crankshafts.

Mahr Federal Inc., a member of the Mahr Group headquartered in Providence, RI, is known worldwide for its expertise in providing dimensional measurement solutions. Contact: Marketing, Mahr Federal Inc., 1144 Eddy Street, Providence, RI 02905 USA. Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Email: [e-mail] Website: www.mahrfederal.com