Spatial Reports Strong New Accounts and Business Growth in Japan

20 April 1999

Spatial Reports Strong New Accounts and Business Growth in Japan; Deformable Modeling Sales Leads to Surge in New Business

    BOULDER, Colo.--April 20, 1999--Spatial Technology Inc. (AMEX: STY), the world's leading developer of open, component 3D modeling technology, announced a strong first-quarter business in Japan with the signing of several new high-profile accounts, including Honda R&D, Futaba, and Photron. The surge in new business in Japan was due, in part, to vigorous licensing of Spatial's Deformable Modeling technology. This technology is proving to be a strong competitive advantage for licensees and is experiencing phenomenal popularity in both modeling applications and manufacturing design departments.
    Spatial's Deformable Modeler, an advanced NURBS-based 3D surface modeling tool, enables users to achieve a high level of artistic design and industrial styling. The Deformable Modeler was Spatial's largest grossing new product in 1998, with customers such as, Alias|Wavefront, Ashlar Inc., Autodesk Inc. , Baystate Technologies, NK-EXA Corporation, and SolidWorks.
    "Kuraki Co. licensed the ACIS(R) Deformable Modeling Husk as a key component of its next-generation CAM strategy," said Mr. Yoshiteru Wanifuchi, general manager, System Engineering Department, Kuraki Co., LTD. "We are very impressed with the power of the software and are amazed at the ease with which it can be integrated into our existing CAM system."
    Mr. Wanifuchi added, "Kuraki Co. is also very impressed with the strong local technical support Spatial provides to its Japanese customers."
    "We are extremely pleased with Spatial's first-quarter Japanese sales performance, which more than doubled in comparison to first-quarter 1998. We remain focused on increasing business in this market for both our flagship ACIS product line and our new emerging technologies," said Bruce Morgan, president and CEO, Spatial. "The new license agreements and the increased momentum in Japan reflect Spatial's growing business success and continued global market dominance."
    Spatial Technology Inc. is the world leader in the development of open, component 3D modeling technology. The ACIS 3D Toolkit is universally recognized as the de facto standard 3D modeling kernel for the MCAD, CAM, CAE, and AEC industries. With 495 ACIS licensees and more than 1.4 million end users of more than 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 ABAQUS/CAE by Hibbitt, Karlsson & Sorensen, Inc., AutoCAD and Mechanical Desktop by Autodesk, Inc., CADKEY by Baystate Technologies, Inc., GAMBIT by Fluent Inc., Grade/CUBE II by Hitachi Zosen Information Systems, GSCAD by Intergraph Corporation , IronCAD by Visionary Design Systems, Inc., Maxwell 3D Field Simulation by Ansoft Corporation , TurboCAD Solid Modeler by IMSI , Vellum Solids by Ashlar Inc., and Working Model 3D by MacNeal-Schwendler Corporation .
    Spatial's Interoperability Solutions Subsidiary, InterData Access (IDA), 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(R), 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, Learjet, Motorola, Northrop Grumman, and Silicon Graphics.
    Spatial Technology is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado, and has offices 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 December 31, 1998.

    Spatial Technology Inc. and SAT are trademarks. ACIS is a registered trademark of Spatial Technology Inc. CALSVIEW and VisionShare are trademarks of InterData Access, Inc. IntraVISION is a registered trademark of InterData Access, Inc.