Mardi Schmieder, 612/683-3538 Laura Merriam, 612/683-7395 FORD ORDERS SECOND TOP-OF-THE-LINE CRAY RESEARCH SYSTEM EAGAN, Minn., July 8, 1993 -- Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich., has ordered a second CRAY C916 system, Cray Research's top-of-the-line, 16-processor supercomputer. Once the second system is installed later this year at Ford's Engineering Computer Center (EEC) in Dearborn, Ford's supercomputing power will far surpass that of other auto makers in the world, Cray Research officials said. Ford was the first commercial company to order a CRAY C916 system in fourth quarter of 1991. A full page in Ford's 1992 annual report is devoted to this C90 system. Today's announcement marks Cray Research's second commercial order for the supercomputer model, which has a list price in the U.S. of $19 million to $40.5 million, the company said. Ford's second CRAY C916 supercomputer will be used to accelerate the design analysis process using three primary applications, according to Ford. They are: computational fluid dynamics for improved aerodynamic design; structural analysis for reducing noise, vibration and harshness (NVH); and crash analysis for enhanced vehicle safety. The system is also slated for manufacturing applications such as the simulation of sheet metal forming of car components, a relatively new application for supercomputers. "In many respects a supercomputer is like a high performance race car -- anyone with sufficient resources can own one; however, it's the know how and expertise in deploying it that makes it a winner," said Wayne Hamann, director, product and manufacturing systems for Ford. He went on to say that "the CRAY C916 is the most powerful computer of its kind. For Ford, which is both the first and second commercial purchaser of the CRAY C916, having this computational capability available for our highly qualified engineers will give us a clear competitive advantage. The average customer doesn't really care what tools we use to design and manufacture Ford products. What they do care about are products which perform well, are reliable, are safe, and have high quality at affordable prices. From my perspective, the CRAY C916 systems, and the Ford engineers who deploy them, will contribute greatly to achieving our customer objectives." "No automotive company has a clearer vision than Ford of how to use supercomputing to speed the design of safer, higher quality vehicles," said John Carlson, Cray Research chairman and chief executive officer. "Ford demonstrated leadership by being not only the first automotive company, but the first commercial company, to purchase our new top-of-the-line CRAY C916 system. Today, with Ford's second order for this system, the company is leading the worldwide auto industry in acquiring and applying supercomputer power to its business." Cray Research has received 19 orders for CRAY C916 system since it was introduced in November 1991. Orders for the system have come from classified customers, supercomputing centers, weather forecasting organizations, environmental research facilities, Department of Energy laboratories, and NASA facilities. Including the entry-level system, Cray Research has more than 450 systems installed worldwide, including 38 systems in the automotive industry. Cray Research creates the most powerful, highest-quality computational tools for solving the world's most challenging scientific and industrial problems. ###