Braintech and ABB to Expand TrueView(TM) Business
Companies Extend Existing Strategic Relationship With New Agreement, Granting
ABB Non-Exclusive Right to Sub-License Braintech's eVF(TM) to Global Channel
Partners
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. and NORTH VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 18
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ABB (NYSE:ABB), a global leader in power and
automation technologies, and Braintech, Inc. (OTC:BRHI) (BULLETIN BOARD: BRHI)
, a pioneer in Vision Guided Robotics ("VGR") technologies, today jointly
announced the signing of a new, expanded strategic agreement between the
Companies providing for Braintech to grant ABB rights to its proprietary and
patented VGR technologies.
In 2004, Braintech awarded ABB rights to market eVisionFactory(TM), ("eVF(TM)")
to the automotive industry within North America. eVF(TM) is a comprehensive
software platform for developing, operating and managing VGR solutions and is
the key-enabling software that powers ABB's TrueView(TM) Robotic systems.
Currently, TrueView(TM) is in operation or scheduled for installation in a
number of manufacturing facilities operated by many North American automakers
and auto parts manufacturers.
As a result of achieving market acceptance for TrueView(TM) through 2004, the
two companies plan to initiate a significant sales program starting the first
quarter 2005. Accordingly, the agreement was amended allowing ABB to market
TrueView(TM), exclusively powered by Braintech technology, to the countries of
the European Economic Union and sub-license TrueView(TM) to their business
partners on a worldwide basis.
Jerry Osborn, General Manager of the ABB Robotic Automation group, stated,
"We're very pleased with the market acceptance of TrueView(TM) and are working
closely with Braintech to further increase our market share. Our message is
simple -- VGR will dramatically improve our customers operations and
TrueView(TM) is 'heads and shoulders' ahead of our competitors' offerings." According to the Automated Imaging Association, the market for VGR materials
handling and assembly (i.e. software, robots and integration) exceeds $2
billion per year on a global basis. Moreover, in 2000, the world machine
vision market was $6.2 billion -- addressing just 10% of potential applications
-- with forecasted growth expected to exceed 20% per year through 2006.
"Partnering with ABB, Braintech played a vital role in introducing the
TrueView(TM) line of vision-guided robotics systems in Spring 2004. The
initial response we have received from the North American automotive
marketplace has been very impressive, resulting in an extraordinary pipeline of
new business opportunities and joint customer wins for both of our Companies.
Moving forward, we intend to fully support ABB's bid for market dominance in
VGR -- both in the U.S. and in Europe -- and look forward to perpetuating our
mutual successes on a global basis," added Owen Jones, Chief Executive Officer
of Braintech.
About ABB ( http://www.abb.com/ ) ABB's Robotics, Automotive and Manufacturing group is a leading supplier of
robots, robotic systems and automation systems to the automotive, manufacturing
and consumer industries. With more than 120,000 robots installed worldwide and
more than 5,000 employees, ABB is a global leader in flexible factory
automation.
ABB is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and
industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact.
The ABB Group of companies operates in 100 countries and employs about 105,000
people worldwide.
About Braintech, Inc. ( http://www.braintech.com/ ) Braintech's VGR technologies are revolutionizing manufacturing by giving
industrial robots the "eyes" to handle and assemble parts with a high degree of
consistent quality and productivity. Braintech's scientific capabilities,
engineering expertise and commitment to support are embedded in the Company's
VGR software product called eVisionFactory(TM), or "eVF(TM)," and is used to
develop, operate and support VGR solutions. To date, Braintech's VGR solutions
have been installed at Ford Motor Company, General Motors, Delphi, TI
Automotive Group, Pullman Industries and Toyota.
SC3D, eVF and eVisionFactory are registered trademarks of Braintech Canada,
Inc.
TrueView and ABB are trademarks of ABB, Inc.
Statements in this document that are not purely historical are forward- looking
statements and reflect the current views of management with respect to future
events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. It is
important to note that the Company's actual results could differ materially
from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially include risks and uncertainties such as technical
difficulties in developing the products; competition from other suppliers of
similar products; pricing that may not be acceptable to potential markets; and
many other known and unknown factors. Readers should also refer to the risk
disclosures outlined in the Company's 10-KSB and 10-QSB Forms filed from time
to time with the SEC.
For more information, please contact:
Braintech, Inc. Jim Dara, VP Sales, GM North American Operations
248-219-9400 /
or
Elite Financial Communications Group
Stephanie Noiseux, EVP of Client Relations
407-585-1080 / DATASOURCE: Braintech, Inc.
CONTACT: Jim Dara, VP Sales, GM North American Operations, Braintech, Inc., +1-248-219-9400, or ; or Stephanie Noiseux, EVP of Client Relations of Elite Financial Communications Group, +1-407-585-1080, or , or Braintech, Inc.
Web site: http://www.braintech.com/ http://www.abb.com/
|