Product Lifecycle Management Provider Formation Systems Announces Record Year of Growth

Business Wire, Feb 7, 2005

SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass. -- New Global Customers and Helping Process Manufacturers to Achieve International Compliance are Among Notable 2004 Achievements

Formation Systems, a leading provider of product development solutions for the food and beverage, home and personal care and specialty chemical industries, today announced that the company achieved record growth in 2004.

"It has been an exceptional year for Formation Systems," said Trent Landreth, CEO of Formation Systems. "We experienced tremendous growth, both organically and through new customer wins. With an expanded sales force aggressively focused on our three target markets - food and beverage, home and personal care and specialty chemicals - and with the early 2005 release of our next generation product development solution, Optiva V, Formation Systems is poised for another banner year in 2005."

Significant 2004 milestones include the addition of new customers across the process manufacturing industries, accounting for a 17 percent increase in Formation Systems customers. New customers include Campbell Soup Company and Hormel Foods Corporation. In addition, 58 percent of Formation Systems' existing customers expanded their investments in Optiva, helping to increase the number of active Optiva users worldwide by more than 1,300 users.

Optiva, Formation Systems' flagship software, is the premier product development solution for process manufacturing companies in more than 40 countries. Optiva is the only PLM solution that automates the entire product development process, enabling companies to create better products faster, at lower costs and with less regulatory risk.

Regulatory compliance emerged as a crucial issue for process manufacturers in 2004. According to the November 2004 Aberdeen Group report, "Formula-Based Product Development: Recipes for Compliance and Success," dynamic product development solutions are becoming increasingly valuable as companies are faced with a myriad of regulatory compliance laws stemming from both the United States and abroad.

The U.S. Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA), Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) and Europe's Registration, Evaluation and Authorization of Chemicals (REACH) are three examples of regulations with which process manufacturers must comply. In 2004, Formation Systems continued to help customers meet and prepare for these and many other regulations by providing them with the ability to track ingredients down to the raw material level and automate the generation of accurate, compliant labels and reports.

The next generation of Optiva, launched in January 2005, provides expanded functionality and advanced technology enabling companies to more quickly achieve global compliance, further enhance their product development processes and improve their ability to innovate by enabling products to be designed for the supply chain.

About Formation Systems

Formation Systems is a software and services company that focuses on significantly improving the product development process for manufacturers in the food and beverage, home and personal care and specialty chemical industries. The company helps manufacturers accelerate new product introduction and achieve globally compliant products with lower development costs and a shorter time to world markets. Customers realize these benefits by using Formation Systems' software, Optiva, which enables manufacturers to consolidate the product development process and integrate disparate systems into one centralized, easy-to-use solution. Customers include Akzo Nobel, Barber Foods, Cadbury Schweppes plc, The Campbell Soup Company, The Coca-Cola Company, GE Plastics, Hormel Foods, Kerry Group plc, Parfums Christian Dior, Rich Products, RPM, The Valspar Corporation and Yves Rocher. Formation Systems is headquartered in Southborough, Mass. with offices around the world. For more information visit the corporate Website at http://www.formationsystems.com.