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GKN Aerospace Selects VISTAGY’s FiberSIM® and SyncroFIT® Software to Design and Manufacture Winglet for Bombardier CSeries

FiberSIM® and SyncroFIT® enable GKN Aerospace to optimize winglet by integrating approach to composite part and assembly development

WALTHAM, Mass., (USA), June 2, 2010 — VISTAGY, Inc., a leading provider of industry-specific engineering software and services, today announced that GKN Aerospace (London Stock Exchange:GKN), a leading Tier One supplier to the global aviation industry, has purchased SyncroFIT® software for developing airframe assemblies, as well as VISTAGY professional services. GKN Aerospace will use SyncroFIT in conjunction with FiberSIM® composites engineering software, both components of the VISTAGY AeroSuite™, to manage the evolving product development process and deliver an optimized winglet for Bombardier’s CSeries aircraft program. GKN Aerospace will also seek to ensure the maximum return on its technology investment by making extensive use of VISTAGY professional services, including process consulting, best practices development and customized training.

GKN Aerospace has used FiberSIM for more than eight years to design a variety of highly complex composite parts, including the winglets on the Boeing 767, the leading edge for the Airbus A380 wings and the wing spars for the Airbus A400M. The adoption of SyncroFIT for the CSeries winglet extends the ongoing partnership between the companies.

Based on processes developed in conjunction with VISTAGY on the Boeing 767 winglet, GKN Aerospace has used FiberSIM to migrate from a ply-based to a structure-based design approach that helps the company react quickly to the inevitable design changes that occur during structural optimization of composite parts. Engineers will now use SyncroFIT to define fasteners early-on in order to provide procurement with precise and up-to-date bills of materials (BOMs), while dramatically compressing the fastener management process. GKN Aerospace will also use SyncroFIT to manage the interactions of composite details within assemblies so that its engineers can validate that fastener design rules have been met and that the ripple effect of changes during skin thickness updates are propagated throughout the assembly.

“Defining holes and fasteners is a critical issue for developing composite aircraft because the variation in skin thickness drives the need for a wide array of fasteners and adds complexity to the design,” said Justin Elliott, GKN Aerospace’s chief engineer on the CSeries aircraft winglet program. “SyncroFIT unravels this complexity by enabling us to easily author and capture complete digital representations of airframe assemblies and share critical design and manufacturing detail more efficiently. VISTAGY’s software and services will enable us to take an integrated approach to design and airframe assembly that will help us meet our goals.”

“We’re pleased to have the chance to expand our relationship with one of the world’s foremost Tier One aerospace firms,” said Steve Peck, director of product and market strategy for aerostructures at VISTAGY. “GKN Aerospace’s implementation of SyncroFIT for the CSeries aircraft winglet program in conjunction with its longstanding use of FiberSIM provides further proof that in the digital age, it’s essential to couple composite design with best practices for managing joints, fasteners and holes to optimize innovative airframe assemblies.”

Bombardier and CSeries are registered or unregistered trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

About GKN Aerospace
GKN Aerospace is the aerospace operation of GKN plc (LSE:GKN), one of the world's largest engineering companies. GKN Aerospace serves a global customer base with some 8500 personnel operating in North and South America, Australia, the Asia Pacific and Europe and offering 24 hour 'follow the sun' engineering. With sales of GBP1bn (USD2bn), the business is focused around three major product areas - aerostructures, propulsion systems and transparencies, plus a number of specialist product areas - electro-thermal ice protection, fuel and flotation systems, and bullet resistant glass. The business is equally split along military and civil lines with participation on all major aircraft programs today exceeding USD1m per ship set. GKN Aerospace is a major supplier of complex composite structures; offers one of the most comprehensive capabilities in high performance metallics processing and is the world leading supplier of cockpit transparencies and passenger cabin windows. For more information go to www.gknaerospace.com

About VISTAGY
VISTAGY, Inc. is a leading global provider of engineering software and consulting services that optimize product development processes by enhancing the functionality of commercial 3D CAD systems. For almost 20 years, VISTAGY has been a pioneer in providing industry-specific solutions that capture complete virtual product definitions and facilitate automatic reuse and efficient exchange of engineering information across the enterprise and supply chain. VISTAGY solutions help customers deliver robust products on time and on budget by increasing productivity, improving communication throughout the product lifecycle and enabling better-informed decision-making early in the design process. The company's customers include over 200 of the world's leading manufacturers in the aerospace, automotive, transportation interiors and wind energy industries. VISTAGY is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA and can be reached at +1.781.250.6800 or by visiting www.vistagy.com.

“VISTAGY. Engineer success.”™
VISTAGY, the VISTAGY logo, AeroSuite, SyncroFIT, FiberSIM and Engineer Success are registered trademarks or trademarks of VISTAGY, Inc., in the United States and in other countries. All other companies and products referenced herein have trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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