Astrium Satellites Selects UGS Tecnomatix for Electronic Product 'Birth Certificate'


Greater Tracking and Production Management Saves Time and Money

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 PLANO, Texas and LONDON - UGS Corp., a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced that Astrium Satellites, a world leader in the design and manufacture of satellite systems, selected Tecnomatix(TM) software, UGS' digital manufacturing solution, to improve time-to-market and product auditing functions. Astrium signed the contract with UGS following a three-way competition against rival industry solutions.

Astrium will use Tecnomatix Manufacturing Execution System (MES), a tracking and production management system, in its Portsmouth, U.K., cleanroom to streamline its production processes. Using the new UGS® solution, Astrium will replace paper-based reporting tools with electronic reporting tools to help reduce the risk of human error in its electronic equipment development.

"The ability to electronically track the assembly process, which must be monitored and recorded at every stage, will provide managers ready access to information about work-in-progress and quality. Electronic tracking also enables managers to ensure that the right amount of time is being spent on each process stage. Our technology demands a 'right first time' approach," said Jonathan Roe, manufacturing engineer at Astrium Satellites. "We can't simply recall products from the shelves should there be a fault. Once our products are in the satellite and headed into outer space, there's very little that can be done to resolve problems. We need to be 100 percent sure of the quality before products leave the building. Having an electronic birth certificate solution from UGS will provide that certainty."

"Astrium Satellites is a leader in product development for the satellite systems industry, so their selection of UGS over our competitors lends great credibility to our solutions and our people," said Paul Vogel, senior vice president and managing director, Europe, Middle East and Africa, UGS. "UGS is firmly committed to helping Astrium gain the benefits of increased productivity by letting the technicians in the cleanroom focus on the product rather than the paperwork."

About UGS
UGS is a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services with nearly 4 million licensed seats and 46,000 customers worldwide. Headquartered in Plano, Texas, UGS 'vision is to enable a world where organizations and their partners collaborate through global innovation networks to deliver world-class products and services while leveraging UGS' open enterprise solutions, fulfilling the mission of enabling them to transform their process of innovation.

About Astrium Satellites
Astrium, a wholly owned subsidiary of EADS, is dedicated to providing civil and defence space systems. In 2005, Astrium had a turnover of Euros2.7 billion and 11,000 employees in France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain and the Netherlands. It has two main business units: Astrium Space Transportation, for launchers and orbital infrastructure, and Astrium Satellites for spacecraft and ground segment. Its wholly owned subsidiary, Astrium Services, develops and delivers satellite services.

EADS is a global leader in aerospace, defence and related services. In 2005, EADS generated revenues of Euros34.2 billion and employed a workforce of more than 113,000.
(eads.com or space.eads.net).

Contact:
Claudia Lanzinger
UGS
+49 6103 2065-510
claudia.lanzinger@ugs.com

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