Darmstadt, April 2006  - Airbus S.A.S., the leading manufacturer of civilian aircraft worldwide, has conferred the status of “prime contractor” for IT services on PROSTEP AG. As such, PROSTEP joins the ranks of the approximately 20 strategic service partners who provide services directly to all Airbus locations. By naming PROSTEP a prime contractor, Airbus is paying tribute to its long-standing and very successful collaboration with the PLM consulting and software company, which has its headquarters in Darmstadt. It is intended that the working relationship between the two companies be intensified in the future. To this end, the companies have signed a framework agreement for the enterprise-wide provision of IT services.

For some time, PROSTEP has provided Airbus Deutschland and its suppliers with a variety of services ranging from CAx/PLM process and system consulting, to the integration of partners and suppliers, to the execution and further development of data exchange and CAx/PDM data conversion, to the operative and methodical support of DMU processes for all aircraft programs. The new status allows the Darmstadt PLM specialists to also provide these and other advanced services – for example in the area of mechatronics integration – directly to Airbus locations in France, Great Britain and Spain. PROSTEP expects this to give a further boost to the business of providing services to Airbus, which is coordinated by PROSTEP ITS GmbH.

“The fact that we have been named a strategic service partner for the entire Airbus conglomerate is not only a mark of recognition but also an incentive”, says Dr. Markus Sachers, managing director of PROSTEP ITS. “Our aim is to extend the physical scope of our collaboration with Airbus over the next few years and expand the functional scope by providing an even wider range of services.”

Airbus and PROSTEP recently signed an open-ended software licensing agreement that grants Airbus the right to enhance their existing OpenDXM® installation, which is used for automating data exchange, CAD conversion and supplier integration, and to deploy it throughout the company.

About PROSTEP AG

PROSTEP AG is recognized as the leading PLM integration specialist in the area of product data integration. The company offers its customers – leading enterprises active worldwide – integration solutions for CAD, PDM and supplier communication, thus making e-engineering a reality.

The PROSTEP Group has a current headcount of more than 230 in Germany and France and posted revenues of approximately € 18.6 million in fiscal 2005. In addition to its headquarters in Darmstadt, PROSTEP also maintains branch offices in Berlin, Bexbach, Hamburg, Hanover, Lyon, Munich, Stuttgart, Wolfsburg and Wuppertal.

PROSTEP ITS GmbH, which is part of the PROSTEP Group, provides services tailored to the aerospace and shipbuilding industries. With extensive process know-how, PROSTEP ITS is able to offer customers from these industries top-notch consultancy and development services in the areas CAx, PLM and supplier communication.