STEP Tools, Inc. Wins Contract for STEP-NC Implementation from U.S. Army's Watervliet Arsenal
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Belinda Jones, 860-767-9506
HiTech Marketing LLC
belinda.jones@hitechmarketing.com
Watervliet Arsenal First Military Installation of Groundbreaking Manufacturing Technology
Troy, New York - October 20, 2003 -
STEP Tools, Inc. the forerunner in
developing ISO STEP integration software for the global marketplace, announced
today it was awarded a contract from the U.S. Army's Watervliet Arsenal for
the implementation of STEP-NC technology within their manufacturing
operations. The Watervliet Arsenal (Watervliet, NY) is the oldest American
manufacturing arsenal, and will be the first military implementation site for
this groundbreaking technology. STEP Tools is internationally renown for their
work and expertise in ISO STEP product data standards and engineering data
infrastructures. In 2003, STEP Tools introduced their first-to-the-market
software products to support STEP-NC Implementation Programs and flagship
users of this vital, emerging technology for manufacturing.
The announcement follows a formal agreement reached between STEP Tools, the
Arsenal, and the Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership, a private
not-for-profit development corporation created to bring new employers and new
technology research and development efforts to the Arsenal site.
Over a two-year implementation period, STEP Tools will work closely with the
Arsenal's highly experienced engineers and machinists to harvest the extensive
development effort put into STEP and STEP-NC over the past fifteen
years. Watervliet Arsenal's modern manufacturing facility is equipped with
machining centers, mills, profilers, and lathes to machine most any part
configuration. Over the past three years, STEP Tools has lead the STEP-NC
effort in North America. The development of STEP-NC technology was supported
by an Advanced Technology Program (ATP) Award issued by the National Institute
of Standards and Technology (NIST), an agency of the U.S. Commerce
Department's Technology Administration.
"We are very pleased that our STEP-NC technology is attracting premier
manufacturers like the Watervliet Arsenal," said Dr. Martin Hardwick,
president and CEO of STEP Tools. "STEP-NC is genuinely a technological
revolution in the field of manufacturing automation. Early adopters of this
innovative, new approach to manufacturing are destined to become industry
leaders, and garner the tremendous benefits of a design-to-manufacturing
system driven by full-fidelity 3D product design data." Dr. Hardwick is the
STEP Manufacturing leader in the international STEP community of over 200
independent product data specialists.
About STEP and STEP-NC Standards
STEP (STandard for Exchange of Product model data) is a comprehensive ISO
standard for CAD design data. STEP-NC, the manufacturing extension of this
standard, annotates the design information with manufacturing data. STEP
became a full ISO standard in 1994, and since then, all of the leading CAD
software vendors have implemented STEP data translation. It is estimated that
more than one and a half million CAD stations now contain STEP data
translators. STEP-NC is on its way to becoming a Draft International Standard
in 2004.
About Watervliet Arsenal
The U.S. Army's Watervliet Arsenal is the nation's oldest and, in many ways,
newest, manufacturing arsenal located in Watervliet, NY. Founded in 1813 to
support the War of 1812, the arsenal soon became America's "Cannon Factory."
It is America's sole manufacturing facility for large caliber cannon in
volume. A 10-year $350-million renovation program completed in 1992 has made
Watervliet Arsenal one of the most sophisticated, automated heavy
manufacturing and machining centers to be found anywhere. One of the most
extensive metals processing facilities in the entire Northeast is located at
Watervliet Arsenal. With federal legislation allowing the arsenal to
participate in commercial contracts, this unique national resource can be
shared with the non-government community. For more information, visit their
website at http://www.wva.army.mil.
About Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership
The Arsenal Business and Technology Partnership is a not-for-profit
development corporation created to bring new private employers and new
technology research and development to the Arsenal site. For more information
on the Partnership call (518) 266-6006 or visit www.arsenalpartnership.com.
About STEP Tools, Inc.
STEP Tools, Inc. is a leading international supplier of professional
STEP software toolsets (based on ISO standards) for application
software developers, design firms and manufacturing companies in
diverse industries. The STEP Tools product line is used by the world's
foremost firms to leverage STEP and STEP-NC technology to facilitate
the sharing of engineering product information. Over one million end
users utilize product data applications built with ST-Developer, the
company's flagship product. The company offers a suite of software
solutions in several languages that integrate with existing tools and
database systems, and also provide cross-platform compatibility and
ease-of-use for streamlined development. The emerging STEP-NC
technology is yielding process improvements including a 35% reduction
in path planning time, a 75% reduction in paper drawings generated for
the shop-floor, and a 50% improvement in machining time for small to
mid-sized job lots. For late-breaking information, contact STEP
Tools, Inc. by calling (518) 687-2848, email: info@steptools.com or visit www.steptools.com.
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