Mentor Graphics Provides KBL and Collaborative Design Management with Latest CHS Release

Wilsonville, OR, August 13, 2007 – Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) today announced enhanced collaborative design capability with the latest release of the CHS™ product suite, version 2007.1. The CHS product is Mentor’s flagship product supporting vehicle electrical system design and wire harness engineering.

Supporting collaborative design between the many companies involved in the electrical design process is an area of increasing importance for many European car companies, as evidenced by the drive towards the development and adoption of standards such as AUTOSAR and KBL. Collaborative design also places demands on the management of design data as it is continuously exchanged and elaborated between the various companies working on a design – a task that has traditionally been both inefficient and error-prone.

With the new release of the CHS product, engineers are able to exchange data in KBL format and selectively merge the KBL data with their in-house design data using an automated facility called Collaborative Design Merge (CDM). CDM provides configurable data filters for every attribute used in the design to define which aspects of the design are controlled by each of the collaborating companies. This is a significant technological leap for the industry, which has previously managed the data merging manually, slowing the design process with the additional risk of introducing unseen errors. With an automated process the data-merging is fast and reliable.

Dr. Bernd Pätzold, CEO of PROSTEP AG, comments “ KBL has an important role for exchange of harness designs between automotive OEMs and their suppliers. The combination of KBL and automated change management facilities is an important next step in improving the efficiency of the engineering process.”

About KBL
Mentor Graphics is a member of ECAD-IF, an open standards development group specializing in the development of standards, including KBL, for exchanging electrical design information between vehicle manufacturers and suppliers. KBL is a data exchange standard used to define automotive electrical wiring harnesses and is being used by a number of European manufacturers and suppliers.

About Mentor Graphics
Mentor Graphics Corporation (Nasdaq: MENT) is a world leader in electronic hardware and software design solutions, providing products, consulting services and award-winning support for the world’s most successful electronics, semiconductor and automotive companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $800 million and employs approximately 4,200 people worldwide. Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777. The company has more than 70 offices worldwide, including Detroit, Munich and Tokyo. World Wide Web site: http://www.mentor.com

 

Mentor Graphics is a registered trademark and CHS is a trademark of Mentor Graphics Corporation. All other company or product names are the registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective owners.

For more information, please contact:
James Price
Mentor Graphics
503.685.1778
james_price@mentor.com

Suzanne Graham
Mentor Graphics
503.685.7789
suzanne_graham@mentor.com