Bénéteau Group Selects PLM Shipbuilding Solutions from IBM and Dassault Systèmes

World’s number one sailboat builder chooses CATIA V5 and SMARTEAM to enhance product development and innovation

Paris, France – April 7, 2004 – IBM and Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) today announced that Bénéteau Group, a world leader in the recreational boating industry, has selected their Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions for development of new sailing and leisure motor boats, including the well-known Bénéteau and Jeanneau brands.

CATIA V5, for collaborative product development, and SMARTEAM, for web-based product data and lifecycle management, both developed by Dassault Systèmes, will enable Bénéteau Group to develop its boats in a collaborative 3D workspace and reach its goal of introducing new models more rapidly. By sharing data among its Bénéteau and Jeanneau shipyards and reusing valuable product designs, the Group will optimize its production processes over the entire life cycle of a boat, from the initial concept stages to final customer delivery and support.

“Our customers are very demanding about performance and comfort, so we must constantly innovate and offer increasingly sophisticated products with multiple options and configurations,” said Paul Rampini, vice-president, Bénéteau Shipyard. “With CATIA V5, we can address these challenges by capturing our critical corporate know-how and reusing our existing designs. Using SMARTEAM, we intend to further optimize our product development processes and focus on new, innovative designs and features.”

CATIA V5’s shipbuilding-specific modules will enable Bénéteau engineers to model complex shapes in context of the overall digital mockup of a boat, as well as optimize composite structures and space allocation. CATIA V5’s relational design functions will permit designers to study the impact of potential design changes before making a decision. Integrated with CATIA V5, SMARTEAM will enable Bénéteau to collaborate between the different companies of the Group and with architects or suppliers for the sharing, viewing, and managing all product information.

Klaus Schaefer, vice president, IBM Product Lifecycle Management, Europe Middle East and Africa, said, “Bénéteau Group’s decision to adopt IBM PLM Shipbuilding Solutions reaffirms our leadership as the unique provider of best-in-class solutions that are adapted to the needs of the boating industry. IBM will continue to develop and deliver offerings that will drive the future of shipbuilding and give shipyards, such as Bénéteau Group, the means to satisfy their customers, adjust to market forces, and position themselves for growth.”

“This announcement is of particular importance to Dassault Systèmes,” said Denis Senpéré, vice president PLM Europe, Dassault Systèmes. “Not only are we delighted that the world leader in this sector has chosen our solutions, we are also pleased because Bénéteau’s decision truly validates our multi-segment business strategy for the shipbuilding industry, in particular the yachting sector. Dassault Systèmes will work tightly with Bénéteau in this comprehensive program to further expand our PLM solution offering, including best practices for sailing and recreational motor boats and a consulting approach for extended enterprise collaboration.”

Dassault Systèmes Solutions France will drive the partnership with Bénéteau from its Bordeaux branch office where a dedicated team for the recreational boating industry is now located. It will partner with IBM and MDTVision, IBM’s wholly-owned PLM services subsidiary, to support Bénéteau with PLM implementation, integration, and training services.