Leading NASCAR team will use PLM to accelerate design, construction and maintenance of faster race cars

STATESVILLE, N.C. & PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2003-- IBM and Dassault Systemes (Nasdaq: DASTY) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) today announced the signing of a contract for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions with Evernham Motorsports LLC, a leading NASCAR Winston Cup Series race team.

IBM PLM Solutions, with CATIA(R) V5 for collaborative product development and SMARTEAM(R) for collaborative lifecycle management from Dassault Systemes, will allow Evernham Motorsports to develop high performance race cars through virtual testing rather than building costly, full-scale physical prototypes.

Additionally, Evernham Motorsports will integrate the new PLM platform with its own inventory and maintenance programs. By linking with PLM Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systemes, Evernham engineers will make design modifications while accessing car building-material information, field usage statistics, and inventory all in one streamlined view, saving precious hours between races. This will allow Evernham Motorsports to gain efficiencies and focus more time on innovative ways to build faster, safer competition vehicles.

"With 38 races per season and constant changes and revisions to our race cars, our down time has to be undetectable," said Dr. Eric Warren, Technical Director, Evernham Motorsports. "We want to streamline our approach and coordinate everything from manufacturing to maintenance. IBM PLM Solutions with Dassault Systemes software have given us the tools to organize the entire flow of product data."

"Each season, NASCAR teams must develop new, complex parts and assemblies, all the while complying with strict stock car racing technical and regulatory specifications," said Marcelo Lemos, President, Dassault Systemes of America. "CATIA's exceptional collaborative product definition capabilities coupled with SMARTEAM's leading-edge data management features will give Evernham Motorsports the accelerated advantage required to build innovative, winning race cars."

The hardware platform chosen for the new PLM system is comprised of IBM M Pro and Z Pro IntelliStations and an IBM X Series eServer.

About Evernham Motorsports

Evernham Motorsports is a professional race team fielding two cars, the No. 9 and the No. 19 Dodge Intrepids, in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series. Evernham Motorsports is committed to building championship race teams through dedication, teamwork and technology. For more information about Evernham Motorsports, log on to www.evernhammotorsports.com.

About IBM

IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. IBM Sales & Distribution, which supports more than a dozen key industries worldwide, works with companies of all sizes around the world to deploy the full range of IBM technologies. The fastest way to get more information about IBM is through the IBM home page at http://www.ibm.com

About Dassault Systemes

As world leader in PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) solutions, the Dassault Systemes group brings value to more than 65,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3D software market since 1981, Dassault Systemes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entire life cycle of products from conception to retirement. Its offering includes integrated PLM solutions for product development (CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SMARTEAM), general-use 3D solutions (SolidWorks), and 3D components (SPATIAL). Dassault Systemes is listed on the Nasdaq (DASTY) and Euronext Paris (#13065, DSY.PA) stock exchanges. For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com

CONTACT: Evernhman Motorsports Press Contact           
             Kristine Curley, +1 704 978 2376         
             
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