TraceParts Acquires Web2CAD European Business Assets and Forms one of the Most Comprehensive Parts Library Solution for Manufacturers and CAD Users.

Saint Romain (France) & Amberg (Germany) – September 13, 2004 – TraceParts S.A., a leading software company which develops and distributes electronic catalogs, parts libraries, product configurations and other related services to parts manufacturers and CAD users, today announced they have purchased the European business assets of web2CAD AG, based in Amberg, Germany.

By merging both the TraceParts and the PowerParts European content, this strategic acquisition will produce one of the most extensive and most widely used CAD Parts Library in the world, with more than 170 parts catalogs and 80 million CAD drawings which can be easily accessed by the 200,000 registered users of the Internet portal tracepartsonline.net.

« TraceParts has always been developing the best-in-class software technology thanks to strong and long-term partnerships with all the main CAD vendors,» explains Gabriel Guigue, TraceParts Managing Director. « This means that we deliver a seamless integration with CAD software such as CATIA, SOLIDWORKS, PRO/ENGINEER, AUTOCAD, INVENTOR, SOLID EDGE, TOPSOLID, THINKDESIGN, with native files and Bill Of Materials attributes. We firmly believe this will soon bring a higher added value to web2CAD customers. »

The newly formed web2CAD TraceParts GmbH company will remain located in Amberg and will continue to serve all web2CAD AG European customers (such as INA, FESTO and BOSCH REXROTH) with most of the marketing, sales and project management team remaining unchanged.

« We are delighted about such a strategic announcement, » says Guillaume Tétard, Services to Customer Manager at LEGRIS, a leading manufacturer of hydraulic and pneumatic fittings. « It means that we definitely made the right decision by choosing TraceParts as our preferred partner for the modeling and the distribution of our CAD drawings. »

« TraceParts brings a very complementary content and geographical coverage to us, » adds Heike Streng, web2CAD TraceParts GmbH Sales & Marketing Manager.  « Since they have been working closely for years with many parts manufacturers for the modeling and distribution of their CAD drawings, they really know about their specific technical and marketing requirements. Even if we come from different countries, we definitely speak the same language! »

About TraceParts

TraceParts S.A. is a leading software company which belongs to the Trace Software Group, founded in 1989 to develop and market original solutions to help CAD users to increase their productivity through both Online and CD-based Parts Libraries, e-catalogs and product configurations.

TraceParts develops a very innovative technology which relies on strong and long term partnerships with all the main CAD vendors in the world: DASSAULT SYSTEMES (CATIA, SOLIDWORKS and Spatial), AUTODESK (AutoCAD, Inventor, Mechanical Desktop), PTC (Pro/ENGINEER), THINK3 (thindkesign), MISSLER SOFTWARE (TopSolid), UGS (Unigraphics, Solid Edge). TraceParts was the first and is still the only Parts Library in the world to get the CAA V5 Software Partner label from DASSAULT SYSTEMES, therefore delivering a seamless integration with CATIA V5.

TraceParts is the number one Parts Library in France, Italy, Spain, UK, Benelux and Turkey, with more than 20,000 commercial seats sold in 35 countries to companies such as MICHELIN, NORTHROP GRUMMAN, SCHNEIDER, AIRBUS, DYSON, COMAU, DELPHI KOREA, ALCATEL, ABB, ALSTOM, NESTLE, BOBST, TECHNIP, OLIVETTI, …

TraceParts catalogs come from partnerships with many major parts manufacturers and distributors including ASCO/JOUCOMATIC, BOUTET, CHAMBRELAN, CSR, GENUSTECH, HERVIEU, HP SYSTEMS, INA, LEGRIS, NORELEM, NSK, PARVEX, PAULSTRA, QUIRI, RABOURDIN, SIAM-RINGSPANN, SNR, SUMER, SUPRATEC, TELEMECANIQUE …

web2CAD TraceParts GmbH is a subsidiary of TraceParts S.A., founded in 2004 in Germany to support the many PowerParts customers and to massively extend the business of Parts Libraries.

The combination of both TraceParts and PowerParts European content forms one of the most extensive and most widely used CAD Parts Library in the world, with more than 170 parts catalogs and 80 million CAD drawings which can be accessed by the 200,000 registered users of the Internet portals PowerParts on Web and tracepartsonline.net.

More details about TraceParts and Web2CAD can be found on the Web: www.traceparts.com

TraceParts is a trademark of TraceParts S.A.
All other products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies