Spatial and Freightliner Announce Technology Partnership
11 May 2000
Spatial and Freightliner Announce Technology Partnership for Web-based Manufacturing Services; Spatial to Take Design Data Routing Software to the Internet
BOULDER, Colo.--May 11, 2000--Spatial Inc. (AMEX: STY), the world's leading developer of Web-hosted engineering application services, e-frastructure, interoperability solutions and open, component 3D modeling technology, and Freightliner LLC, the leading heavy-duty truck manufacturer in North America, today announced an exclusive partnership agreement to commercialize Freightliner's proprietary Web-based software for management and routing of design data through corporate intranets. Freightliner's internally-developed software is a key technology for facilitating the processing, transmission and tracking of 3D design data throughout the entire digital manufacturing supply chain."As an Engineering Service Provider(TM), our corporate mission is to Web-enable key technologies that enable the digital manufacturing supply chain by simplifying the transfer of digital model data among manufacturers and suppliers," said Bruce Morgan, president and CEO of Spatial. "Every Web-based service Spatial releases is based upon proven software products that have been previously inaccessible to most manufacturing and design engineers due to high costs of entry. Spatial is breaking down those barriers by exploiting emerging Internet-based technologies and responding to the market's need for on-demand, subscription or pay-per-use software services."
"Our data exchange processing and transfer technology is key within Freightliner for managing the business process of sharing manufacturing and product data with our extended enterprise," said Michael von Mayenburg, senior vice president of Engineering and Technology at Freightliner LLC. "This technology is used by hundreds of engineers and suppliers as a key element in correctly processing and transmitting engineering data. This meets a critical need for all in the engineering industries who need to process, securely transmit and track the status of their data. It is ideal as a Web-based service."
Von Mayenburg added, "Spatial's confirmed expertise and leadership in data exchange technology for the Internet was a central qualification during our search for a technology partner. We realized Freightliner would benefit from the unique combination of software development expertise and deep manufacturing market knowledge that Spatial brings to the partnership."
"The combination of Freightliner's proven design data exchange, routing and tracking technology with 3Dshare.com, our Web-hosted service for repairing and translating 3D models, moves us closer to our goal of helping manufacturing companies flatten the speed bumps in their digital manufacturing supply chain," said David Prawel, vice president of Business Development, Spatial. "Manufacturers large and small will be able to move design data up and down their supply chain quickly and easily on a pay-per-use or subscription basis."
Freightliner's technology provides comprehensive, automated Internet-based management tools for the transmission and communication of a broad range of design data from manufacturers to their divisions and suppliers. The technology allows for customized creation and selection of recipients, and each transaction made is extensively logged. Notification of job completion is sent by e-mail to recipients and the original dispatcher, and all outgoing/incoming data is automatically archived.
In future product releases, the technology will be enhanced to ensure the delivery of the most appropriate formats for the engineering data using close integration with Spatial's 3Dshare.com(TM) service. 3Dshare.com is used by more than 6,600 registered members to resolve CAD interoperability problems in the digital manufacturing supply chain. This new service using the Freightliner technology will be available through the subscription pricing model during Q3 2000.