Valor announces joint marketing agreement with Cadence
on DFM integration and ODB++ data exchange.

Yavne, Israel - June 21, 1999 -Valor Computerized Systems, Ltd., leaders in CAD/CAM solutions, announces a joint marketing agreement with Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NYSE: CDN), a world leader in PCB design software, to provide PCB designers with tools that will significantly improve time-to-market and design quality. The agreement pairs the Cadence Allegro PCB layout system (part of the Intrica family of PCB design tools) with Valor's ODB++ technology and Enterprise 3000 DFM (design for manufacture) analysis system to deliver an integrated solution that provides true design for excellence capabilities by balancing design functionality with manufacturability.

This agreement further strengthens the existing ties between the two companies announced last year (Valor is a Platinum member of Cadence's Alanza Group Connections program).

ODB++ Postprocessors.

Cadence will distribute ODB++ postprocessors to all Allegro users, worldwide, to enable fast and accurate output of ODB++ data, the emerging de facto standard for intelligent Design-to-Manufacturing data exchange. ODB++ data contains all design knowledge necessary for successful product manufacture and test, including PCB layers, components, test points, drill/route data, net attributes, manufacturability constraint rules and DFM results. The postprocessor will operate directly on the Allegro database, extracting all necessary product intelligence to build the ODB++ "physical product model," ready for delivery into manufacturing. A single ODB++ file replaces the traditional "container files" of old-style formats such as Gerber, Excellon, Component Placement Lists, netlist, and HP-GL/DXF drawings.

Dave DeMaria, vice president of marketing for PCB design solutions at Cadence, explained that, "ODB++ is a highly integrated format that eliminates much of the reverse-engineering which goes on today between PCB design and PCB manufacture. Major OEM companies are already experiencing quantifiable quality and cycle-time benefits from using ODB++ to integrate the outsourced manufacturing phases of their product introduction with their in-house design operations."

Support for Design-Anywhere/Build-Anywhere philosophy.

Valor and Cadence are combining to jointly promote the Enterprise 3000/Allegro toolset as a recommended balanced design solution for taking complex designs from the schematic level to volume manufacture. The Enterprise 3000 operates as a "plug-in" DFM analysis and optimization tool for the PCB layout engineer to use during the Allegro board layout process. Enterprise 3000 moves manufacturability analysis upstream from the factory level into the design process, where it applies 200+ rules-driven dedicated manufacturability analyses concurrently during the design stage. The results are fewer revision spins due to manufacturability problems, smoother tooling processes for the manufacturers, and more predictable delivery times.

Julian Coates, VP corporate marketing at Valor Ltd., said, "The clear trend is towards a design-anywhere/build-anywhere philosophy, with manufacturing of high-volume, complex product being outsourced to specialist Contract Electronics Manufacturers (CEMs). Within this business environment, Valor has established a position of excellence in the field of DFM during recent years, with many large OEMs reliant on Valor technology for introducing product into manufacturing. This agreement with Cadence represents a breakthrough for the industry: design and manufacturing integrated into one continuous engineering process based on the ODB++ intelligent data exchange format. Having established an intelligent, bi-directional engineering data exchange using the ODB++, the next logical step is to create a second level of "virtual integration", based on building the manufacturers' DFM process into the OEMs' design processes."

DeMaria expanded on this point, emphasizing, "The objective of Cadence is to bring highly integrated solutions that support emerging business and engineering processes. We want to give our customers solutions that help bring complex, high-speed PCB designs to market with maximum quality, on time. The combination of Allegro and Enterprise 3000 is a balanced solution that meets the demands of high-speed circuit design, yet at the same time guarantees optimum and predictable manufacturability. Functionality is of little use without manufacturability! When manufactured, the product must work exactly according to the designers' intentions, and it must hit the market on time, without cost overshoots. Users of the integrated Allegro/Enterprise 3000 solution will get even closer to their goal of zero defects, first time"
Technology roadmap for further integration.

Valor and Cadence are implementing a technology roadmap to achieve even closer integration between the Enterprise 3000 DFM system and the Allegro PCB layout system. Today, full graphical synchronization exists between the systems, giving the layout engineer full control over data integrity within his Allegro database. The future potential for integration between Enterprise 3000 and Allegro includes back-annotation of design optimizations made by Enterprise 3000, directly into the Allegro system. DeMaria explained the potential advantages of back-annotation: "The Enterprise 3000 is based on a unique algorithmic kernel for analyzing and optimizing the ODB++ physical model of the printed circuit assembly. The forward-annotation already exists, and we are now committed to making the next industry breakthrough, which is the back-annotation from an intelligent CAM environment directly to the CAD database itself. At Cadence, we have a high level of confidence that, with Valor as a technology partner, we will deliver CAD/CAM back annotation within the next year."

About Cadence

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. is the largest supplier of software products, methodology services, and design services used to accelerate and manage the design of semiconductors, computer systems, networking and telecommunications equipment, consumer electronics, and a variety of other electronics-based products. With more than 4,000 employees and 1998 annual sales of $1.2 billion, Cadence is headquartered in San Jose, Calif., and has sales offices, design centers, and research facilities located around the world. More information about the company, its products and services may be obtained from the World Wide Web at http://www.cadence.com.

About Valor

Valor is a global leader in CAD/CAM software providing state of the art solutions for Electronic
Design and Manufacturing. Providing powerful analysis tools and serving as an interface for driving production equipment, Valor's systems ensure that manufacturing uses only optimized data. The result is accessible, coherent planning resources and improvements in tooling efficiencies. The bottom line is shortened cycle time driven by a significant boost in productivity and quality. More information about the company can be found at http://www.valor.com

Enterprise 3000 and ODB++ are registered trademarks, and the Valor logo is a trademark of Valor Computerized Systems Ltd. All others are properties of their holders.

For more information, contact:
Judy Delude
Valor Computerized Systems
(781) 890-3311
judyd@valor-us.com

Lisa Gillette-Martin
Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
(408) 894-2512
lgmartin@cadence.com