Simula Inc. Announces New FASTrack Strategy
27 April 2000
Simula Inc. Announces New FASTrack Strategy for Product Portfolio Management and Technology Planning
PHOENIX--April 27, 2000--Simula Inc. (NYSE:SMU) today announced the implementation of a new corporate strategy -- designated FASTrack, for Framework for Advancing Strategic Technologies -- that emphasizes time-to-market and cost-effective management of the company's product portfolio and technology planning processes.The strategy is designed to optimize the company's return on its existing portfolio of products and technologies, as well as its ongoing investment in cutting-edge research and development. Of approximately $12 million in research and development that was conducted by the company in 1999, $4.4 million was internally funded; the balance consisted of government- and customer-funded contracts.
"In implementing FASTrack, which emphasizes product development from within the company, we are revisiting an operating philosophy that has proved successful for most of Simula's 25-year history," noted Donald W. Townsend, president and CEO of Simula.
"Under internal development for the last 12 months, FASTrack is beginning to deliver results in the areas of technology planning and development, patents and intellectual property, and licensing activities. It is also accelerating the formation of partnerships and strategic alliances," said Townsend, "two of which are expected to be announced shortly."
"FASTrack has two principal focuses," said Joe Coltman, Simula's executive vice president for Technology Development. "The first is an emphasis on the commercialization of technologies that create new markets or expand existing markets, rather than the modification of existing technologies that seek to compete directly in mature markets.
"We now have in place a process that will facilitate the timely identification of technologies with the greatest economic and commercial potential, a prime example of which is our Inflatable Tubular Structure (ITS(R)) family of inflatable restraint products produced by our automotive safety division.
"Historically, the company has been most successful with internally developed products that are then marketed -- typically at attractive margins -- through separate business units," continued Coltman. "Accordingly, in developing FASTrack we have sought to maintain the entrepreneurial spirit of these business units while nonetheless incorporating across all divisions the latest product portfolio management techniques.
"The second principal focus of FASTrack, then, lies in identifying technologies within the company's core product areas (transparent and opaque armor; advanced polymers and materials; transportation seating; inflatable restraint systems; personnel protective equipment and parachutes; and sensors) that have the greatest potential for commercialization in a variety of markets and across diverse customer bases.
"The process includes (in consultation with key customers) product development modeling by all Simula divisions, the development of a long-term technology road map for the company, and a prioritization of available opportunities.
"FASTrack, which embodies the company's return to the fundamental approach that has made it a recognized leader in safety technologies and products, has already facilitated the identification of strategic partnership needs, opportunities for enhancing relationships with key suppliers, and additional licensing opportunities," concluded Coltman.
"We look forward, over the next few months, to describing in more detail the elements of this overall strategy, applications that show the most promise, and the ensuing growth potential that we see in each of our core product areas."
Simula, with headquarters in Phoenix, is a diversified technology company that designs and manufactures occupant safety systems and devices engineered to safeguard human life in a wide range of air, ground, and sea transportation vehicles. The company operates in two principal markets that are aligned with its core technologies: government and defense contracting and automotive safety systems.
Technical disciplines of the company include advanced parachutes, personal survival equipment, crash sensors, a large range of protective armor products, inflatable restraints, and advanced transparent and opaque polymer materials. Additional information about Simula can be found at its Web site, www.simula.com.
Safe Harbor statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that may cause the company's actual experience to differ materially from that which is anticipated. These forward-looking statements include statements about the implementation and anticipated results of the company's FASTrack strategy. Actual results and trends may differ materially from those projected. Additional risks include those described herein and in the company's registration statements and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.