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The Federal Metal Company Selects MSA's Blending Optimization Software Suite (BOSS) PITTSBURGH, PA - May 7, 2010 - Management Science Associates, Inc.'s (MSA) Metals and Advanced Manufacturing Division has announced that The Federal Metal Company, Bedford, Ohio, has recently selected the application service provider (ASP) version of MSA's Blending Optimization Software Suite ™ (BOSS) as its raw materials blending optimization platform. MSA's BOSS determines the least-cost combination of materials to produce a given heat, lineup or production schedule, taking into account all of the various chemical, operating and quality constraints. The BOSS ASP also includes an alloy addition calculation and a purchase planning feature. The BOSS ASP version permits multiple users within a company, including meltshop, corporate, and purchasing personnel, to run the optimization software via an Internet browser using secure user names and passwords for controlled access. MSA provides support to clients to help them upload their data (grades, materials, inventory, costs, etc.) into the system using Secure Socket Layer to protect all client transmissions. Peter Nagusky, President of The Federal Metal Company, remarked, "In evaluating MSA's BOSS ASP offering, we were impressed with the product's ease of use, the ability to integrate with our existing ERP and spectrometer software, and the potential raw material cost savings that this full-featured optimization package offered us. We are very satisfied with our initial roll-out and are looking forward to exploring additional features of the system." The Federal Metal Company will also work closely with MSA to develop a Market Price Calculation feature for the BOSS ASP service. This feature will provide the capability to update raw material prices based on the intrinsic value of their contained elements, or by applying any number of custom formulas to determine their market prices using discounts or premiums off of published price indices (such as those published by LME or COMEX). According to Patrick J. Gallagher, MSA's Metals and Advanced Manufacturing Division Vice President, "To remain competitive in today's business world, metals companies must use raw materials (scrap and additions) in the most cost-effective manner possible. Utilizing the latest advances in Internet security and server technology, MSA can offer this powerful optimization technology for a reasonable recurring monthly fee, eliminating the need for a large capital expenditure and high overhead costs in terms of IT equipment and support personnel. This service now allows numerous firms to improve their operations with technology that previously had been available only with the acquisition of a large-scale software system." Gallagher further states, "At no additional cost, companies can enjoy the benefits of IT Managed Services such as secure access, backup and recovery, power backup, disaster recovery and a system hosted in a secure, certified DR/BC environment." Based in Pittsburgh, PA, MSA's Metals and Advanced Manufacturing Division specializes in providing complete turnkey computer systems, process control and modeling services, system design, and facility-wide management systems to a variety of process and manufacturing industries. Perhaps best known for its work in automating steel mills and its Raw Material Data Aggregation Service ™ (RMDAS) for steel scrap, the Division also provides services for the chemical process, pulp and paper, and environmental services industries as well as applications for laboratory information management, business intelligence, and e-commerce. The Metals and Advanced Manufacturing Division has provided such services since 1982. ABOUT MANAGEMENT SCIENCE ASSOCIATES, INC. (MSA) Management Science Associates, Inc. engineers and commercializes information-based models, processes and systems for industry and government. Since being incorporated in 1963, MSA has partnered with customers to identify areas in which innovative analyses and uses of data can foster growth or drive efficiency. Combining its expertise with the tools of information management, analytics, data management, software and systems technology, MSA develops, integrates, implements and maintains products and services in various functional and vertical domains. It helps customers put their data to work. With more than 800 employees, MSA provides solutions for over 300 clients, including many of the largest U.S. and foreign corporations and institutions. Headquartered in Pittsburgh, it also has offices in New York City; Chicago; High Point, NC; Atlanta; Las Vegas; Cardiff, UK; Shanghai, China; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. ABOUT THE FEDERAL METAL COMPANY The Federal Metal Company is a leading supplier of brass and bronze ingot to the foundry industry throughout the world. Federal Metal produces hundreds of tons of ingot every week, priced competitively with unmatched quality and service, so manufacturers of cast alloy products are able to succeed in today's competitive markets. Federal Metal also specializes in lead-free casting alloys, scrap metal products, conversion and tolling work.