SAN RAFAEL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2003--

Leading Worldwide Mining Machinery Manufacturer Improves Quality and

Communication Among Vendors and Customers Across Four Continents

Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, today announced that the underground mining machinery division of Joy Global Inc. (Nasdaq:JOYG), a leading worldwide mining machinery and services company, is standardizing on Autodesk Inventor(R) 3D mechanical software for the design and manufacture of its high quality mining equipment to achieve faster turnaround and better communication among its internal teams, customers, and external vendors. Joy Global, which purchased 200 licenses of Autodesk Inventor(R) Series software for use by its Joy Mining Machinery division in the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, and Australia, had been using five different CAD systems among four continents. Moving to a single design system, Joy Mining Machinery expects significant improvements in productivity and its ability to share design data across the division, as well as a reduction in the large costs associated with maintaining multiple software licenses. With Autodesk Inventor software in place to improve communication, Joy expects to shorten time to market, help ensure design accuracy, reduce costs, and better serve customers. In addition, Joy is working with Autodesk Professional Services and its channel business partners around the world to provide training and ongoing support and to solve technical challenges.

The mining industry is vital to the overall health of the world economy. For example, more than 50 percent of the electricity generated in the U.S. comes from coal-fired power plants. As a company that prides itself on helping its customers deliver mineral and energy resources that are efficiently and carefully extracted to meet the requirements of the world's economy, Joy Global is turning to Autodesk for its cutting-edge technology that promises to help them accelerate design time, reduce production errors and speed products to market.

"Autodesk Inventor's power and simplicity allows engineers to go back to being engineers, not just CAD experts. We're already feeling the benefits of the software's ease of use, short learning curve, accuracy, and adaptive modeling capabilities," said Tim Morris, director of Global Engineering Systems at Joy Mining Machinery in Franklin, Pennsylvania.

Autodesk Inventor Software Enables Design Reuse and Collaboration

In the mining industry, much of the design data that goes into building the complex machinery is reused to help design other machines, instead of starting from scratch for each project. For this reason, Joy Mining Machinery needed a CAD system that would let it easily modify and reuse design information. Using Autodesk Inventor software, Joy can use a single machine design, modify parts, and improve the overall design or change it into something altogether different. The software facilitates this process by easily allowing the Engineering Department to modify designs, test new part movement, and create accurate instructions and AVI files for manufacturing and assembly. Previously, the Engineering Department provided the Manufacturing Department with a packet of 2D drawings for 3D assembly.

In addition to Autodesk Inventor software's design advantages, Joy is realizing increased collaboration between its internal teams and outside vendors. Because the majority of the machining, casting, and forging companies that Joy works with also use Autodesk(R) software, Joy can easily exchange designs for faster turnaround and better communication. The company will be able to better communicate with its vendors to help ensure that the right part is created the first time and money is not being wasted.

Taking collaboration to the next level, Joy is evaluating the Autodesk Streamline(TM) online project collaboration service to facilitate product configuration on site for customers. This will enable sales representatives to build a model of a mining machine on their laptops with Autodesk Inventor software and quote an immediate price for the customer.

"As a leading manufacturer of equipment and supplier of aftermarket support for the extraction of coal, copper, iron, gold, and other mineral resources, Joy Global's products have a worldwide impact," said Robert Kross, vice president of the Manufacturing Division at Autodesk. "The company needs a technology-based solution that not only helps them build the best products in the world for their industry, but helps them cut expenses to remain efficient and profitable."

Consulting Services

In the United States, Autodesk channel business partner INCAT (www.incat.com) is helping Joy Global create standards and procedures that can be employed in all its international locations to create work uniformity. When new jobs arise, Joy Global then has the flexibility to move the project to another location where more resources are available. INCAT is also teaching best practices, helping with the evaluation of the Autodesk Streamline service, and researching translators to convert Joy Global's legacy files to Autodesk Inventor software.

"We help manufacturers and their suppliers to optimize their product creation process," said Ron Gallentine, senior account manager at INCAT in Atlanta, Georgia. "For Joy Global, we've created standard libraries and procedures so that they can work more efficiently and productively."

INCAT provides technical services and solutions for Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) and supply chain integration to companies worldwide. INCAT's customers include the leading automotive and aerospace OEMs and their suppliers, as well as other users of advanced technology products and services. INCAT has headquarters in the United States, in Novi, Michigan, and the United Kingdom, in Bedfordshire, and operates in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim.

About Autodesk

Founded in 1982, Autodesk, Inc. is the world's leading design software and digital content company. Autodesk offers solutions for professionals in building design, geographic information systems, manufacturing, digital media, and wireless data services. By delivering progressive products and services, Autodesk helps customers create, manage, use, and maximize the value of their digital data throughout the lifecycle of their projects. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

Note to Editors: Autodesk, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, and Autodesk Streamline are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the United States and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

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