China’s Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group Expands its PLM Solution from IBM and Dassault Systèmes

China’s state-owned aviation industrial group establishes CATIA® and SMARTEAM® V5 as corporate standard

Shaanxi, China and Paris, France - October 10, 2003 - IBM and Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) today announced that Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group Company Ltd. (SAC), a subsidiary of China Aviation Industry Corporation II (AVIC II), will expand its Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform. SAC develops and manufactures medium-size, medium-range transport aircrafts.

SAC will extend its PLM platform with SMARTEAM, a product data management (PDM) software from IBM PLM Solutions, developed by Dassault Systèmes. SMARTEAM will enable SAC to deploy an enterprise-wide PDM platform for collaboration and process management. It extends the existing SAC PLM platform that includes CATIA V5, IBM PLM Solutions’ collaborative product development software, also developed by Dassault Systèmes.

The new PDM capabilities will enable SAC to manage aircraft bills of material (BOM), all CATIA data including 3D digital mock up (DMU) designs, and process workflow. The enhanced PLM platform, based on the two seamlessly integrated applications, will enable SAC development teams to design and analyze new aircrafts across the entire lifecycle of the product, as well as manage and share product information throughout the enterprise and supply chain.

“Based on our success with CATIA V5 and the excellent support provided by IBM and Dassault Systèmes, we decided to move forward to the next level of PLM,” said Mr.Hu Xiao Feng, president of Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group. “After an extensive evaluation including an in-depth pilot project, we chose SMARTEAM as our enterprise PDM solution because it fulfills our needs, can be deployed quickly, is easy to use, and is affordable.”

Gary Kuo, executive, Industrial Sector, IBM Greater China Group, said, “The aerospace marketplace is becoming more complex and competitive. Our objective is to help aerospace customers succeed in this market by providing solutions that give them a competitive advantage in product development. As a technology partner to SAC for many years, we have helped them develop innovative, cost-effective aircraft with a collaborative product development platform that delivers cost efficiencies and improved productivity and product quality. We will continue to support SAC in their endeavor to build a competitive, world-class aircraft manufacturing facility by providing a complete set of robust IT solutions that meet the rigorous needs of the aerospace industry.”

“Our integrated CATIA and SMARTEAM solutions provide a comprehensive collaborative product development and lifecycle management platform for Shaanxi Aircraft Industry Group," said Francis Bernard, executive committee advisor, Dassault Systèmes. “Since our PLM solutions are scalable, SAC can grow its PLM platform as required, helping it to optimize product quality and cost, inspire innovation, and realize its goal of becoming a world leader in the aviation industry.”