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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF
THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
January 29, 1998
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Date of Report
(Date of Earliest Event Reported)
TOPRO, INC.
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(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
COLORADO 0-19167 84-1042227
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(State or other jurisdiction of (Commission (I.R.S. Employer
incorporation or organization) File No.) I. D. Number)
7887 E. BELLEVIEW AVENUE, SUITE 820
ENGLEWOOD, CO 80111
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(Address of principal executive offices) (zip code)
(303) 771-9794
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(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
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ITEM 5. OTHER EVENTS.
On January 29, 1998 the Company announced certain business developments in
a Press Release dated January 29, 1998, which is filed as Exhibit 20.1 hereto
and incorporated herein by reference.
ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND EXHIBITS
(a) Not applicable.
(b) Not applicable.
(c) Exhibits. The following exhibit is filed with this Report:
20.1 Press Release dated January 29, 1998.
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on
its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
Topro, Inc.
Date: January 29, 1998 By: /s/ John Jenkins
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John Jenkins, President and CEO
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EXHIBIT 20.1
PRESS RELEASE
TOPRO, INC.
TOPRO SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH R.W. BECK AND
ANNOUNCES ADDITIONAL YEAR 2000 SOLUTION ENGAGEMENTS
January 29, 1998 - Englewood, CO - Topro Inc., d.b.a TAVA Technologies, Inc.
(Nasdaq-TPRO), a leading provider of automation and information technology
solutions to industry, today announced that it has signed an agreement with RW
Beck to form a joint venture to address the market for year 2000 (Y2K)
compliance in the process control and embedded system layer in the electric
utility industry. This is an extension of TAVA's Plant Y2K One-TM- product and
service offering already provided to general manufacturing and process
industries.
The venture will operate under an exclusive license to apply TAVA's Plant Y2K
One-TM- product to the electric utility industry and will modify the product to
meet the particular requirements of the industry. Modifications will include
extension of TAVA's compliance database to include process automation components
commonly applied in power generation, transmission and distribution. Financial
terms were not disclosed.
The venture already has secured engagements with CMS and PacifiCorp and has
proposals outstanding to several other clients that are expected to close in the
next 30 days. The venture presented, on January 28, as a designated solution
provider, to a conference on the Y2K embedded system problem sponsored by
Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI). More than 35 utilities will be
represented at the conference. In February, the venture will be presenting on
the same topic to the Western Power Producers Conference where another 20
utilities will be present.
RW Beck is a consulting engineering firm with 500 employees operating from 10
offices across the U.S. The firm specializes in providing engineering services
to electric utilities, particularly in the area of risk assessment and planning.
Beck's utility client list numbers more than 1000.
John Jenkins, CEO, said, "We know the utility industry is just now getting
started on a major Y2K compliance task that presents significant opportunity.
The resources, subject matter expertise, and client base that RW Beck brings to
the Venture will accelerate significantly our success in this market."
He added, "We believe this venture model may have ready application to some
other vertical markets outside the Company's immediate experience base, one that
we are currently considering is that of Y2K embedded system compliance in
hospitals and bio-medical systems."
Jenkins added as a general update on the Company's overall business activity:
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The Company's Y2K business continues to grow broadly. The present client base
stands at more than 30 with new additions including General Motors, Medeva
Pharmaceuticals, Kraft Foods, TRW, Pillsbury, Occidental Petroleum, UNOCAL,
Cargill, the U.S. Mint and others. The scope of these engagements ranges from
early, single plant pilots to multi-plant programs. The Company expects the
scope of these projects to grow, as is consistent with its experience with its
existing Y2K client base.
The Company recently has completed the inventory and assessment phase of two
multi-plant, multi-national engagements that are now expected to move quickly
into the conversion planning and remediation stages. The Company has completed
a proposal for the first of these that includes a total program estimate of more
than $6,500,000.
The Company recently opened an office in Birmingham, Alabama with a staff of
five senior system engineers, all with recent Y2K compliance program experience.
The Company expects this office to grow significantly and quickly. The
Birmingham operations have been chartered to lead the Company's Y2K compliance
business in the automotive industry.
In addition to current engagements at General Motors, TAVA has several other
initiatives directed at the automotive industry. As one example, the Company
has just put a number of its personnel through a Y2K accreditation process
managed by the Automotive Industry Action Group (AIAG). This accreditation
process is designed by AIAG as part of an initiative to address the automotive
industry supply chain Y2K compliance issues.
John Jenkins noted, "In general, awareness of, and action on the Y2K issue in
the process control and embedded device layer is still generally lagging with
some sectors now beginning to accelerate. The industrial press is now beginning
to address the issue. TAVA recently has been interviewed on the topic, and is
scheduled to address several Y2K industry forums in the next two months,
including The Year 2000 Symposium Series and The Automation Technologies Forum."
CONTACTS:
Topro, Inc. Pacific Consulting Group, Inc.
John Jenkins Scott Liolios
(303) 771-9794 (714) 574-3860
