Mentor Graphics Wire Harness Design Solution Allows Vansco to Lower Costs and Improve Design Quality

WILSONVILLE, Ore., February 26, 2003 - Mentor Graphics Corporation today announced that the Wire Harness Technology (WHT) division of Vansco, a supplier of complex wire harnesses for the transportation industry, has adopted the Mentor Graphics? Capital Harness Systems^TM (CHS) family of products for the design, engineering and manufacturing of electrical wire harnesses.  By implementing the CHS flow, Vansco has been able to improve the efficiency and accuracy of its processes; drastically minimizing production errors, lowering training requirements, and reducing the time required throughout the entire process.

Vansco supplies wire harnesses to manufacturers of large transportation and heavy construction equipment.  Designs for its transportation customers include buses with more than 100 harnesses per vehicle and as many as 400 circuits per harness.  After an extensive review of available 3D and 2D systems, Vansco selected CHS for the ease-of-use and fast implementation allowed by its standards-based structure.

"We wanted a system that was easy to use and was specifically designed for the wire harness industry.  That's why we chose Mentor Graphics," said Mike Adam, Operations Manager, of Vansco's WHT division.  

"The clarity and comprehensiveness of the information produced by the Capital Formboard product enabled Vansco to significantly improve the quality and efficiency of the shop floor," said Bob Dann, WHT Manufacturing Services Manager.

About Capital Harness Systems
CHS is a complete, end-to-end tool set for complex wire harness creation, with tools to automate the design, analysis and manufacture.  The Capital Manager^TM relational database is at the heart of CHS, storing and managing all design data.  CHS applications write to and access data directly from this common repository.  The CHS family addresses the issues facing the automotive and aerospace industries today, providing a complete flow of tools to handle the complexity more efficiently.  Built on a component-based data model and electrical database, CHS facilitates information sharing throughout the enterprise and its entire supply chain.

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 and semiconductor companies. Established in 1981, the company reported revenues over the last 12 months of about $600 million and employs approximately 3,500 people worldwide.  Corporate headquarters are located at 8005 S.W. Boeckman Road, Wilsonville, Oregon 97070-7777; Silicon Valley headquarters are located at 1001 Ridder Park Drive, San Jose, California 95131-2314. World Wide Web site: www.mentor.com.

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

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For more information, please contact:
James Price Mentor Graphics 011.44.161.926.1637 james_price@mentor.com	Suzanne Graham Mentor Graphics 503.685.7789 suzanne_graham@mentor.com