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Toyota Powertrain last month joined other leaders in the sector deploying integrated PLM (product lifecycle management) systems and getting significant process improvements – in this case PTC Pro/Engineer Wildfire 2.0. The deployment marks a milestone in the joint process redesign and development initiative signed by PTC and Toyota in May 2003. The system incorporates “dozens of improvements” for powertrain development that Toyota and PTC have been developing over the last 18 months. Since standardising on Pro/Engineer for powertrain in 2002, Toyota says it has achieved improvements in design cycle time, introduced lean product development techniques, and ramped up continuous improvement, quality and technical innovation. This phase builds on all that by integrating 3D engineering, analysis, manufacturing planning, drawing creation and interoperability. “PTC has been a skilled and experienced partner to us throughout this major undertaking to improve our processes throughout the Powertrain Division,” says Mikio Satoh, Toyota’s general manager of corporate IT. “PTC’s comprehensive product development system clearly aligns with Toyota’s approach to product design and development, and we anticipate significant benefits to our process through this deployment.” It’s another feather in the cap for PTC, which has been focusing on powertrain. VW, BMW, Hyundai, Fiat, Volvo Truck, Daihatsu, Hino Motors, Tata Motors, ZF, Mannesman, Visteon, Robert Bosch, Eaton, Dana, AVL and Cummins all use PTC.