[August 01, 2008]

Navistar Defense Deploys WhereNet Locating System

(Wireless News Via Acquire Media NewsEdge)
WhereNet, a Zebra Technologies company and a provider in wireless
solutions for tracking and managing enterprise assets, announced that
Navistar Defense has deployed the standards-based WhereNet active RFID,
real-time locating system (RTLS) to automate work-in-process tracking
at its West Point, Mississippi, manufacturing facility.

Implemented in 30 days, WhereNet stated that the system helps reduce
production costs and accelerate delivery of the MaxxPro MRAP (Mine
Resistant Ambush Protected) vehicles for the United States Department
of Defense. MaxxPro MRAP vehicles are designed to protect troops from
roadside bombs and other growing threats in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"After a thorough evaluation of solutions providers, we selected
WhereNet because its real-time visibility solution has a proven track
record of reducing costs, improving quality, and expediting production
in industrial manufacturing environments," said Rex Baldwin, IT project
lead for Navistar Defense. "Among all of its other benefits, the
system's impact on reducing cycle time aligns perfectly with our
ultimate goal of rapidly delivering MRAP vehicles to the U.S. military
to protect our troops in harm's way."

Spanning more than one million square feet indoors and out, the
WhereNet system consists of a local infrastructure of 5 wireless
WhereLAN location sensors and 13 WhereLAN locating access points that
can be used for determining the location of assets as well as Wi-Fi
mobile data communication; 400 active RFID WhereTag transmitters that
are attached to MRAP chassis at the beginning of the armor-plating
process; and WherePort magnetic "exciters" that trigger the

transmitters to emit a signal when entering or leaving a specific work
cell, enabling the system to automatically record such information as
arrival, dwell, and departure time without any human intervention.

"We are proud to not only support Navistar's production processes, but
also to provide value to our troops by shipping MRAP vehicles into
theater sooner than ever before to ensure warfighters' safety from
improvised explosive devices," said Jason Rushton, system architect for
aerospace and defense, Zebra Enterprise Solutions. "From the
manufacturing assembly line to maintenance, repair and overhaul
facilities to logistics hubs located around the world, Zebra Enterprise
Solutions drives value across the DoD supply chain by automating
business processes and consistently delivering a complete ROI in a
matter of months."

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