Aircraft Carrier Alliance chooses Material Advantage from Viasys as Information Management backbone

Tonbridge, England, September 7th 2007 - Viasys today announced that its Material Advantage software system had been selected as part of the central hub for document control, procurement, materials control and contract management for the project that will lead to the construction of the largest vessels ever sailed by the Royal Navy.

The Defence Secretary, Des Browne, confirmed on July 25th 2007 that the £3.9 billion order for two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, had been placed, and it is planned that they should enter service in 2014 and 2016 respectively.

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) will use Material Advantage to provide a central hub for procurement, contracts, materials control and document control. Material Advantage will interface, and share vital project information, with many other ACA systems, and applications in use at Alliance member’s sites.

A Viasys project team has been deployed at the ACA project office in Filton, Bristol to ensure that delivery of the system meets the ACA requirements and timescales. Viasys will then provide on-going support for what is, in effect, the backbone of the procurement and contracts management functions of the Alliance.

Roger Napleton, Managing Director of Viasys Limited, comments, “We are proud that Material Advantage has been chosen for such a vital role in this project. It underlines how wide-ranging and powerful our system is, and is testament to its robustness, reliability and flexibility”.

About the ACA
The Aircraft Carrier Alliance is an innovative alliance comprising industrial participants and MOD – in which the MOD acts as both client and participant – responsible for delivery of the future aircraft carriers (CVF), HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH and HMS PRINCE OF WALES. For the Manufacture Phase of the project the Industrial Participants will be: the BAE Systems / VT planned Joint Venture, Thales, Babcock and BAE Systems (Surface Ships & Insyte).

About Viasys
Viasys (http://www.viasysweb.com) is a software development company with over 10 years experience of providing supply chain management, procurement and materials management software to the Engineering and Construction industries. Material Advantage is its flagship software system offering companies greater visibility, predictability and control on projects. In turn, this enables significant cost savings, emanating from reductions in project cost, time and resource requirements.