Automotive OEM signs biggest ever deal for production engineering IT

Simulation and production engineering software developer Tecnomatix, which last year allied with PLM (product lifecycle management) IT and services giant EDS, has signed its largest order ever: $50m with “a major auto manufacturer”. The firm has entered into a four year global agreement with the unnamed automotive OEM – which sources say is either GM or Ford – eventually to augment its manufacturing operations world-wide, and builds on existing successful work. If it is either Ford or GM, it’s a substantial hike in the automotive giants’ expenditure on these systems, which currently runs around the £3—5m pa. The agreement is to implement Tecnomatix Manufacturing Process Management (MPM) systems. The company is buying Tecnomatix eMPower software, services and maintenance, including the eM-Planner product suite, a set of applications for manufacturing process planning, simulation and design and production validation. Purchase volumes are expected to increase gradually during the early stages of the agreement, accelerating as deployment ramps up. “This is the most extensive agreement in the history of Tecnomatix. It addresses all of our customer’s manufacturing disciplines world-wide,” says Harel Beit-On, Tecnomatix chairman and CEO. “Tecnomatix has been working with this customer on several implementations over the past few years, and we have been able to deliver significant value during that time. Our eMPower solutions have reinforced their global virtual manufacturing programmes and key enterprise strategies, including flexible manufacturing, digital process validation, capital asset reuse, and the alignment of product and process development.”