BCAM International Makes Possible World's First 'Intelligent' Passenger-Car Seat
9 September 1997
BCAM International Makes Possible World's First 'Intelligent' Passenger-Car Seat
Cadillac Becomes First Carmaker to Commercialize BCAM's Breakthrough
Ergonomic-Design Technology
Royalty Stream From Textron to Commence This Year
MELVILLE, N.Y., Sept. 9 -- BCAM International Inc.
announced today that its proprietary and patented Intelligent
Surface Technology (IST) is incorporated into the driver and passenger seats
of the new 1998 Cadillac Seville STS model being launched today by the
Cadillac division of General Motors Corporation.
In 1993, Textron signed an exclusive agreement with BCAM to
license its Intelligent Surface Technology for transportation seating, office
chairs, hospital beds and wheelchairs. Under the agreement, BCAM will receive
a royalty payment each time its technology is incorporated into products.
Textron Automotive, a division of Textron Inc., is the leading supplier of
automotive interior and functional components and systems.
For BCAM, this represents significant recognition for the company's years
of research into the phenomenon of how to make better "ergonomically designed"
products that are in total physical harmony with their users and that provide
them with the ultimate in comfort and fit.
"For nearly a century, Cadillac has been creating a higher standard in
automotive luxury and performance," said Michael Strauss, chairman and chief
executive officer of BCAM International. "Through the combined efforts of
BCAM and Textron Automotive, Cadillac now has the first intelligent passenger
seat with the highest level of comfort and the most ergonomic sophistication
that the auto industry as a whole, and Cadillac passengers in particular, have
ever experienced. Once again, Cadillac has set a higher standard."
"Textron Automotive's growth strategy emphasizes proprietary products and
process technologies that add great value at lower cost for our customers,"
said Tony Haba, vice president of McCord Winn Textron, a subsidiary of Textron
in Providence, R.I. "We are pleased to be partnering with BCAM, whom Textron
believes to be the premier company focusing on the ergonomic design of
advanced seating comfort technology."
"We are proud to have partnered with Textron Automotive and Cadillac in
order to create the world's first intelligent passenger-car seat that is a
revolutionary departure from what passengers have come to accept as comfort in
automobiles," said Strauss. "We also are extremely excited about the
potential for IST to expand in the automotive market, which represents a
substantial opportunity for BCAM."
In recent years, the automotive industry has recognized the benefits of
providing comfort adjustments in its passenger seats. One of the most popular
features incorporated into car seats has been adjustable lumbar, or lower back
support. Automakers acknowledged the enormous improvements in comfort and
fatigue reduction these custom adjustments can make for a passenger and have
wanted to extend these benefits throughout the entire seat. However, when
they tried to incorporate more than one or two comfort adjustments, the result
had been an overly complex product, that dissatisfied many users.
The introduction of Intelligent Seat represents a new breakthrough in the
design of automobile seating. The contour of the entire seat surface is
controlled automatically by a small computer inside of the seat backrest. The
Intelligent Seat provides custom fit to the individual occupant of the seat.
When a different person sits down, the Intelligent Seat recognizes the new
occupant and adjusts the seat to best fit that individual, providing the
appropriate lumbar, thigh, and bolster support, as well as, improving the
pressure distribution of the occupant's body weight on the seat surface. The
comfort of the occupant is checked dynamically every couple of minutes, and
the system adjusts the seating surface, if necessary, providing extended
comfort during long drives. All of these automatic, individualized
adjustments enhance measurable comfort to previously unattainable levels.
Anyone who has had the opportunity to sit in the Intelligent Seat has had a
difficult time returning to their own non-intelligent car seat.
To date, seven patents have been issued (including one European patent)
involving various aspects of IST, and a Notice of Allowance recently was
received from the U.S. patent office involving a key patent. When combined
with four pending patents, BCAM enjoys substantial intellectual property
protection for this technology. BCAM has identified primary applications for
IST in the areas of footwear, seating, beds, medical equipment and hand tools.
Thus far, BCAM has entered into IST partnerships with several major
corporations:
--Textron Automotive, the automotive division of Textron Inc., has been
granted an exclusive license for the use of IST in the manufacture and sale of
seats and seating components for the transportation, hospital bed, wheelchair
and office-chair markets.
-- Reebok International Inc. , a leading worldwide designer,
marketer and distributor of sports, fitness and casual footwear, has been
granted an exclusive license to incorporate BCAM's IST into footwear.
(Medical footwear/equipment and orthopedic devices are specifically excluded
from this license agreement.)
-- Sealy Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of bedding and mattress
products, has entered into an agreement with BCAM that provides Sealy with an
option to use BCAM's IST in its adjustable beds and a right of first refusal
for the use of IST in all non-medical bedding products. Sealy has indicated
that it plans to incorporate IST into at least one of its products during
1997.
-- Recently, a major manufacturer of recliners provided funding for BCAM
to retrofit one of its recliners with IST for evaluation.
BCAM International Inc. is one of the nation's leading ergonomic-software
technology companies, specializing in ergonomic solutions for major industries
and governments. BCAM provides a broad range of consulting services using
proven principles of ergonomics and biomechanics that combine elements of
physical medicine and engineering in the design of products, tools, and
manufacturing processes that are better suited to be more compatible with the
human body.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains "forward-looking" statements. The words
"anticipate," "believe," "estimate," and "expect" and other similar
expressions as they relate to the Company and its management are intended to
identify such forward-looking statements. Although the Company and its
management believe that the statements contained in this announcement are
reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that such statements will prove
correct. Factors that could affect the occurrence of events or results
discussed herein include those mentioned in the Company's Form 10-K and 10Qs.
SOURCE BCAM International Inc.
