Hydrolift Boats Fly Without Wings with PLM Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes

06/09/2005

Norwegian company pioneers a new generation of high-performance pleasure boats developed with CATIA V5

Oslo, Norway and Paris, France - June 9, 2005 - IBM and Dassault Systèmes (NASDAQ: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) today announced that Norway-based Hydrolift AS has chosen their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions to pioneer a new generation of high-performance, high-technology pleasure boats.

 

Hydrolift will use CATIA V5, an IBM PLM Solution developed by Dassault Systèmes, for a complete, end-to-end process, from design to production of its most advanced line of high-performance pleasure boats. Hydrolift is the world’s leading company for the design, engineering and manufacturing of open-water, high-performance pleasure boats.

 

Without sacrificing strength and safety, Hydrolift boats distinguish themselves with leading-edge hull forms that greatly reduce aerodynamic and water drag. This leads to a minimum overall weight and to an excellent fit-and-finish, maximizing power transfer to the water. In order to achieve this combination of lift and forward power and to maintain safe operating conditions, Hydrolift’s pleasure-boat development requires the use of advanced surfacing, precise systems layouts, and exact manufacturing tolerances.

 

CATIA V5 will provide Hydrolift with advanced surfacing, full digital mockup, precise visualization, ergonomics, and full mechanical system modeling. The same 3D data set provides the base for specialized marine and aerodynamic analysis and is used again as input to milling and cutting machines to make molds and cut parts with exacting tolerances. This enables the company to design and produce the right product more quickly, thus accelerating time-to-market and return on investment.

 

“CATIA V5 is an important backbone in our design house philosophy, in which we go from ideas through design, tool production, prototyping and mass production as one complete delivery,” says Bård Eker, managing director and owner of Hydrolift. “The evolution and development of the CATIA V5 suite fulfills our needs in the search for the ultimate high-tech products."

 

“Hydrolift pleasure boats can face extreme conditions sailing at speeds of 70 knots (more than 80 miles per hour or 130 kilometers per hour) on the water,” said Raimo Nikkila, Nordic Manager, IBM Product Lifecycle Management. “IBM’s flexible and highly engineered PLM solutions enable the company to develop successful high-tech products and thus to reinforce its leadership position towards competitors.”

 

“As Hydrolift demonstrates, CATIA V5 is the standard for high-performance design in new markets for PLM such as pleasure boats,” said Denis Senpéré, vice president, PLM Europe, Dassault Systèmes. “CATIA V5 enables the company to efficiently create cutting-edge boats that emphasize Hydrolift’s market values of speed, safety, and quality.”

 

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About About Hydrolift

Hydrolift is a Norwegian company based in Fredrikstad, 100 km south of Oslo, with its sales office in Oslo. Its primary line of business has been to develop fast and efficient speed boats primarily for use in pleasure and racing in all parts of the world.  Since 2002, Hydrolift has been owned and managed by Bård Eker. The company's philosophy is to develop high technology hulls for best high-speed performance, fuel economy and sea skills, and to be pioneers in functional design. For more information, visit http://www.hydrolift.com/.

About IBM

To learn more about IBM and PLM, visit: www.ibm.com/solutions/plm