Spatial Technology Inc. Reports Record New Accounts, ACIS Releases, and Products in 1998.

BOULDER, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 8, 1999--Spatial Technology Inc. (AMEX:STY), the leading developer of open, component 3D modeling technology, today reported record new account signings, ACIS(R) releases, and product introductions in 1998.

Spatial finished the year maintaining the momentum it established in the second and third quarters of 1998.

With a record 74 new account agreements signed worldwide in 1998, Spatial continued its rapid pace of customer signings. Spatial's customer base now totals over 480, which is more than five times larger than its nearest competitor's.

Among Spatial's new customers are 47 commercial software developers, including AliasWavefront a subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc. (NYSE:SGI), American Bureau of Shipping, Fukui Computer Co. Ltd., Hi-Tech Co. Ltd., MAGMA GmbH, NKK Corporation, Paraform Inc., SRAC, and Vector Fields Ltd.

New customers also include 16 universities and seven research institutes. These include the City University of Hong Kong, Fraunhofer GRCG, INESC, Kobe University, Universite de Limoges, University of Stuttgart, and Vanderbilt University.

Additionally, there are four manufacturers, including Beloit Corporation, a subsidiary of Harnischfeger Industries, Inc. (NYSE:HPH) and Honda R&D Americas (NYSE:HMC).

This rapid growth of Spatial's customer base in 1998 was a direct result of the aggressive release schedule of the company's flagship product ACIS 3D Toolkit(TM) modeling kernel, and the velocity of technical improvements the company provided its customers in the releases.

In March, Spatial released ACIS 3.1, which featured more robust modeling functionality. This was followed by the release, in April, of performance enhanced ACIS 4.0, which offered important across-the-board improvements in speed and functionality. In June, ACIS 4.1 was released with additional performance enhancements and new features, such as Interactive Hidden Line functionality.

ACIS 4.2, released in August, featured Booleans with complex helical paths that were 30 times faster than in ACIS 4.1, among other performance improvements. In November, ACIS 4.3 featured enhanced surface modeling. This month, Spatial expects to release ACIS 5.0, with tolerant modeling, enhanced healing technology, new bending functionality, enhanced blending capabilities, and new selective Booleans.

In addition to advancing its flagship product ACIS 3D modeling kernel, Spatial launched several highly successful new interoperability products for improved access and sharing of CAD model data. Spatial introduced the ACIS Healing Husk(TM), which enables the healing, or correcting, of inaccurate models. The ACIS Healing Husk is already the most successful new product introduction in the company's history, with a record 34 customers since its release in March 1998.

Spatial also introduced its Deformable Modeler, an advanced NURBS-based 3D surface modeling tool that enables users to achieve a high-level of artistic industrial styling and design. The Deformable Modeler was Spatial's largest grossing new product in 1998, with customers such as, AliasWavefront, Ashlar Inc., Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), Baystate Technologies, NK-EXA Corporation, Paraform, and SolidWorks.

In addition, Spatial introduced IGES and VDA-FS data translators to extend the interoperability of ACIS SAT(TM) models. The ACIS IGES Translator Husk has been licensed by 25 customers since its release in September 1998.

To further meet the growing demand for interoperability solutions, Spatial and InterData Access, Inc. (IDA), a leading developer of engineering sharing and exchange solutions, combined their technical expertise and products in 1998. IDA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spatial, broadened its global market share by growing its number of customer contracts worldwide to over 1,250, generating an installed base of more than 10,000 seats.

Among IDA's new contracts are several from industry-leading companies, including Boeing (NYSE:BA), Bombardier Inc. (ME:BBD.A.; TSE:BBD.A.; ME:BBD.B.; TSE:BBD.B.), Harley-Davidson Corporation (NYSE:HDI), and Motorola (NYSE:MOT). Of IDA's new customers, 39% are from Europe, 35% are from the U.S. and Canada, and 27% are from Asia.

In 1998, IDA signed a significant worldwide distribution agreement with Rand Technologies (TSE:RAND), the world's largest reseller of CAD, CAM, and mechanical design automation solutions. IDA announced an exclusive marketing and development agreement with DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX). Under the agreement, the companies offer unique product engineering solutions for the automotive, aerospace, and discrete manufacturing industries worldwide.

IDA also announced joint partnership agreements with Metaphase Technology and MatrixOne Inc., for the development, marketing, and support of PDM viewing integration solutions. In addition, IDA entered into an OEM agreement with iBASEt (Information Based Technology), a leading provider of paperless manufacturing execution systems (pMES) for the shop floor. IBASEt has the largest pMES user seat presence in the aerospace and defense manufacturing industry today.

In 1998, IDA introduced a record number of state-of-the-art new products. VisionShare(TM), announced in September, is the first precise digital mockup tool for visualizing large assembly 3D models, based on the international STEP standard for exchanging product data.

Additional product announcements included IntraVISION(TM) v3.0, which provides enterprises access to a variety of product data needed to share information across manufacturing departments and between industry suppliers, IGES and STEP Internet plug-ins, IntraVISION PDM integrations, IntraVISION Batch(TM), and the Data Exchange Manager(TM).

IDA also opened a new Product Data Consulting Services division to provide data exchange consulting and services. Significant accounts include BMW, SDRC (NYSE:SDRC), ABB, MatrixOne Inc., and Fujitsu.

Spatial Technology Inc. is the world leader in the development of open, component 3D modeling technology. The ACIS 3D Toolkit, Spatial's flagship product, is universally recognized as the de facto standard 3D modeling kernel for the MCAD, CAM, CAE, and AEC industries. With over 480 ACIS licensees and more than 1.3 million end users of over 180 ACIS-enabled applications, ACIS is indisputably the most widely used 3D modeling kernel in the world.

The open architecture of ACIS and the industry standard ACIS SAT(TM) file format are known as the "ACIS Geometry Bus." The ACIS Geometry Bus is the key to 3D model interoperability among ACIS-enabled applications, including AutoCAD and Mechanical Desktop by Autodesk, Inc, Bravo by Applicon, Inc., CADKEY by Baystate Technologies, Inc., Grade/CUBE II by Hitachi Zosen Information Systems, GSCAD by Intergraph Corporation (Nasdaq:INGR), IronCAD by Visionary Design Systems, Inc., MegaCAD by Megatech Software GmbH, TurboCAD Solid Modeler by IMSI (Nasdaq: IMSI), and Vellum Solids by Ashlar Inc.

To further extend Spatial's leadership in sharing and accessing CAD model data throughout the design and manufacturing process, Spatial and InterData Access, Inc. (IDA) have combined their technical expertise, products, and financial strength. IDA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spatial, is a leading provider of product data viewing, data translation, and digital mock-up software and consulting services to Fortune 500 industrial companies worldwide.

IDA products include IntraVISION(TM), CALSVIEW(TM), VisionShare(TM), Data Exchange Manager, and IGES/STEP development tools. IDA's customers include Boeing, Bombardier, Caterpillar, Diebold, General Electric, Harley Davidson, Hitachi, Lear Jet, Motorola, Northrop Grumman, and Silicon Graphics. For more information, visit IDA's Web site at http://www.ida.com.

Spatial Technology is headquartered in Boulder, and has subsidiaries in Europe and Asia. Shares of Spatial stock are publicly traded on the NASDAQ-AMEX exchange under the symbol "STY" (AMEX:STY). For more information, visit Spatial's Web site at http://www.spatial.com, or call 303/544-2900.

Statements made in this news release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in any forward-looking statement. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by any forward-looking information. A description of risks and uncertainties attendant to Spatial Technology Inc. and its industry, and other factors which could affect the company's financial results, are included in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including but not limited to the company's annual report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended Dec. 31, 1997.

Note to Editors: Spatial Technology Inc., ACIS 3D Toolkit and SAT are trademarks. ACIS is a registered trademark of Spatial Technology Inc. IntraVISION, CALSVIEW, and VisionShare are trademarks of InterData Access, Inc. All other products are trademarks of their respective owners.