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March 2006 — Hadeed, Saudi Arabia, has contracted AIS for the implementation of its BetaPlanner solution for mill scheduling. BetaPlanner will complement Hadeed’s existing SteelPlanner implementation, which has been in operation since 2000.

The extension will be executed within the framework of Hadeed's project to double its flat steel production capacity. Extension work is being carried out in the steel plant and in the hot strip mill area.

Hadeed will utilize BetaPlanner on a daily basis in its scheduling department to optimize the hot strip mill schedule, taking into consideration the mill’s technological and logistical constraints as well as user-defined priorities such as customer service or material management.

Hadeed uses its existing SteelPlanner solution, which has been in operation since 2000, to plan, schedule and control production in the Al-Jubail steel plant, hot strip mill and cold rolling mill complex. This new project will enable Hadeed to add powerful optimization algorithms that will help to improve customer service and mill efficiency.

The project, started in Q4 2005, is expected to go live in early May 2006.

The AIS group, headquartered in Linz, Austria, is a leading supplier of planning and scheduling solutions for the Metals Industry with many references of its SteelPlanner^® family of products worldwide. AIS Solutions increase the efficiency of expensive heavy equipment by optimizing capacity planning and production schedules. The AIS group is owned 50% by MCE and 50% by VAI, a division of the Siemens Industrial Solutions and Services Group.

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