HURCO, MDSI Announce Extended Cooperation

ANN ARBOR—Manufacturing Data Systems, Inc. (MDSI), Ann Arbor, MI and Hurco Companies, Inc. (Hurco), (Nasdaq:HURC), Indianapolis, IN, have agreed to extend their long-term collaboration agreement for the development of various control related software technologies. According to Michael Tarr, Global Sales Director for MDSI, "Our collaboration will leverage the combined resources of each company for the development of new control and software technologies."

According to Jim Fabris, President and COO, Hurco Companies, Inc., "Advanced, user friendly control and software technologies are significant market differentiators in our business strategy. Both contribute to the skill multiplying capability necessary for users to improve the overall efficiency of their machining operations while maintaining highly competitive global standards."

Hurco Companies, Inc. is an industrial technology company that designs and produces interactive computer controls, software, and computerized machine tools for the worldwide metal cutting industry. The end market for the Company's products consists primarily of independent job shops and short-run manufacturing operations within large corporations in industries such as the aerospace, defense, medical equipment, energy, transportation and computer equipment. The Company is based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and has sales, application engineering and service subsidiaries in High Wycombe, England; Munich, Germany; Paris, France; Milan, Italy; Shanghai, China and Singapore, along with manufacturing operations in Taiwan. Products are sold through independent agents and distributors in the United States, Europe and Asia. The Company also has direct sales forces in the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, and Asia.

MDSI is the developer of OpenCNC® and WinMotion® open architecture machine control solutions which improve machine tool productivity, and permit users to easily upgrade hardware, software, and peripheral components without having to reengineer existing machine logic. MDSI is a subsidiary of Tecumseh Products Company, a $2 billion global manufacturer of compressor, gasoline engines, and pumps. MDSI supplies open architecture factory automation solutions that increase flexibility and enable agile manufacturing for the CNC and general motion control markets. MDSI software has logged millions of hours of successful metalcutting production in the aerospace, construction, agricultural and machine tool industries.