Volvo Aero secures first IT-order in product support field

12/22/1999 7:39 AM EST

VOLVO AERO SECURES FIRST IT ORDER IN PRODUCT SUPPORT FIELD

Volvo Aero has secured its first major order for software systems. The
company has been selected as the supplier of a new maintenance and
planning system, Maintenix. The purchaser is the U.S. company DynCorp,
which intends to use the system to enhance the efficiency of maintenance
on the U.S. Army's C-12 aircraft.

The order represents a significant breakthrough for Volvo Aero.

DynCorp plans to use Maintenix to enhance the efficiency of maintenance on
the U.S. Army's C-12 aircraft. The system is to be installed in 176
aircraft stationed at some 80 bases worldwide.

Volvo Aero secured the order in the face of competition from a number of
established companies in the sector. DynCorp, which has some 17,000
employees, is one of the largest suppliers of maintenance on military
aircraft in the U.S. The value of the order has not been officially
disclosed.

The most interesting aspect of the order is that the company is now
offering the market totally new products. Prior to this order, Volvo Aero
in Trollhättan has mainly been known for its hardware products, such as
components for aircraft and rocket engines. However, the company has also
worked with service and maintenance for many years, an operation that
currently accounts for more than half of the company's sales.
As a natural extension of this activity, software is now being developed
that supports service and maintenance operations, in which the company's
experience and expertise can be utilized and applied in new systems.

Maintenix is a software system for operation, planning and maintenance
that was developed for the aerospace industry. The system calculates when
an aircraft or an aircraft engine requires maintenance, and also registers
every detail of the maintenance procedures subsequently
performed.Maintenix is part of a product portfolio consisting of several
IT systems designed to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of product
support and reduce maintenance costs in the aviation industry.
Volvo Aero cooperates with Mxi Technologies Inc. of Canada in the sale and
implementation of Maintenix. Mxi Technologies is a software company that
focuses on the development of product support systems for the aerospace
industry.

"For understandable reasons, Volvo Aero has developed the system
primarily for aircraft engine applications, but it can equally well be
applied to maintenance work on other aircraft components - or components
in other types of vehicles," explains Jan-Ove Östensen, business manager
in Advanced Product Support at Volvo Aero.
December 22, 1999
For further information, please contact Jan-Ove Östensen, +46 520 47 74 24.