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Toyota Selects Intermec Wireless Network Infrastructure

28 November 2000

Toyota Selects Intermec Wireless Network Infrastructure; New Electronic Lineside Call System Depends On Wireless Ethernet Standard

    EVERETT, Wash.--Nov. 28, 2000--Intermec Technologies Corp. today announced that Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America Inc. (TMMNA) has selected Intermec as the standard vendor for all wireless LAN infrastructure to support office and plant floor operations.
    A new electronic lineside call system at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK), written by Padre Software Inc. in conjunction with Keltour Controls, will be the first application to use Intermec's industry-leading radio frequency local area network (RF-LAN) products, which are compliant with IEEE 802.11 standards.
    Kentucky-based Toyota Motor Manufacturing North America is an automotive world leader in the manufacturing of quality cars and trucks. Intermec is the world's leading supplier of wireless information technology for automated data collection in industrial environments. Padre Software is an Intermec value-added reseller delivering software and hardware solutions designed to direct parts calls and expedite their delivery to lineside.
    Intermec and Padre have worked together on many major installations within the automotive industry to provide specific solutions unique to automotive manufacturing and assembly needs. Toyota selected Intermec and Padre, based on their leadership positions in the industry and the proven reliability of their solutions, to replace an existing wireless network. The fact that Intermec equipment is based on open systems and industry standards allows Toyota to be comfortable that today's solution will support them in the future and can be expanded without risk. Intermec accomplishes this in its wireless Ethernet backbone by providing radios compliant with the IEEE 802.11b Direct Sequence High Rate standard and access points with dual radio slots. Today's radio communicates at 11Mbps speeds to the floor, and the open slot allows tomorrow's higher speed radios to be introduced if Toyota chooses.
    Padre Software's "Go Lean, Reduce Waste" maxim defines the products and solutions it delivers to the automotive industry. Enterprise-wide material management and decision support are among services Padre and Keltour provide to Toyota.
    The Lineside Call System provides a real-time response to parts calls and prioritizes calls according to preset requirements for response times. Maximum productivity in a just-in-time manufacturing system is achieved through reduction or elimination of line-out manufacturing delays, reduced lineside parts delivery times, and reduced inventory space requirements. The data collection also provides information to support operational decisions related to equipment, manpower and production processes.