STEP Tools, Inc. Wins Contract for STEP-NC Implementation from U.S. Army's Watervliet Arsenal

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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 15% reduction in machining time. For late-breaking information, contact STEP Tools, Inc. by calling (518) 687-2848, email: info@steptools.com or visit www.steptools.com.