LOUISVILLE, June 19 -- Representatives from Ford Motor Company, the University of Louisville, the U.S. Army and the American Iron and Steel Institute joined U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell here today for a ceremonial signing of a technology agreement at Ford Kentucky Truck Plant (KTP).

A previously enacted Defense Appropriations bill awarded $6 million in fiscal year 2000 for a research effort by Ford and the University of Louisville in conjunction with the American Iron and Steel Institute -- for the development of truck technologies for potential use by the U.S. Department of Defense.

The technologies development effort - called IMPACT, an acronym for "Improved Materials and Powertrain Architectures for Trucks" - supports the development of lightweight and durable truck technologies for dual use in tactical military trucks.

Today's ceremony signals the start of the IMPACT project aimed at developing lightweight, more fuel-efficient Super Duty trucks. Super Duty trucks are produced at KTP.

The program seeks to develop lightweight, fuel efficient, corrosion resistant, low-cost technologies for commercial and military trucks. It will focus on the use of high-strength steel, laser-welded blanks and improved bonding to significantly reduce the weight of a Ford F-Series for potential military application. Ford F-Series is the best-selling truck in North America.

"The Commonwealth of Kentucky has a great deal to gain from the IMPACT initiative," said Senator Mitch McConnell, R-KY, a member of the Republican Congressional leadership and the Senate Appropriations Committee.