Braking Records : Brembo chooses CATIA and ENOVIA Portal for e-collaboration

High-end automotive brake manufacturer launches strategic e-collaboration project underscoring long-standing confidence in IBM and Dassault Systems

Bergamo, Italy and Paris, France September 3, 2001… Nine out of the 11 Formula One race teams use CATIA solutions from IBM and Dassault Systems to make subtle design changes after every race -- based on factors such as individual track conditions -- to squeeze every bit of speed into their cars.  Conversely, quite a few are also using CATIA designs to safely reduce their speed.

Brembo S.p.A, one of the world’s first names in high-end automobile brake design, IBM and Dassault Systèmes today announced that Brembo has chosen CATIA and ENOVIA Portal for its strategic e-collaboration project to shorten time-to-market and streamline engineering processes.  When speed is of the essence, safety becomes an ever more important concern.

Brembo designs and manufactures braking systems for high-end automobiles, motorcycles, industrial vehicles and even Formula 1 race cars for customers including Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Honda, Mercedes and Porsche.  These uncompromising customers lead Brembo to rely on the track-proven expertise of IBM and Dassault Systemes’ CATIA and ENOVIA solutions.

Using CATIA V4, for example, Brembo was able to secure a solid lead in the braking business.  Now their objective is to go a step further to reduce time to market, extend innovations in product performance and quality, and increase productivity.  To reach this ambitious goal, Brembo has chosen to implement a company-wide online design collaboration environment using ENOVIA Portal Solutions to assist the research and design departments to streamline their engineering processes and produce exceptionally high-quality customized braking components in up to 30% less time.

Said Paolo Crovetti, Information Technology Manager, Brembo S.p.A., " Brembo is considered a status symbol in the automobile industry.  Our products must meet the most rigourous demands of our customers.  The technology we implement, now including ENOVIA Portal Solutions to complement our existing CATIA V4 installations, is a key to our success and helps us reinforce our leadership position.  The fact that we’ve won Ferarri’s " Most Innovative Supplier - 2001" trophy and AT Kearney Consulting’s prestigious " GEO (Global Excellence in Operation) " award for the best production site in Europe and the world  demonstrates that, with the proven technology supplied by IBM and Dassault Systemes,  we are moving forward to reach this goal. "

In fact, thanks to IBM’s easily-accessible global infrustructure, Brembo has chosen IBM as its strategic supplier for all its e-business needs, from servers (AS 400) to workstations (RS 6000) to 3D design technology.  The scope of Brembo’s latest project with IBM, e-collaboration, spans the globe.  In the first phase of the project, Brembo added ENOVIAVPM to its existing CATIA installations at their Italian headquarters, allowing 3D design collaboration company-wide.  Brembo is now in the second phase of the project, equipping their international production facilities with IBM Product Lifecycle Management solutions.  This includes the installation of 500 ENOVIA Portal seats and 40 ENOVIAVPM licenses used to allow better management of design modification.  The third phase of the project is scheduled to begin in September will include the roll-out of ENOVIA V5.

Since the project started, Mr. Crovetti has already noted that teamwork has improved. " At Brembo, we implement a full production cycle, integrated at over 8 plants worldwide.  In order to produce state-of-the-art braking systems within this international structure, we must be able to coordinate our activities on-line.  This is why we chose ENOVIA Portal.  It’s an easy to use, web-based application giving our extended enterprise access to all product, process and resource information that we need.  Now our logistics teams can collaborate with the design and production teams, eliminating both guesswork and time lags. "

Joel Lemke, chief executive officer, ENOVIA, commented " ENOVIA Portal Solutions provide the foundation for a 3D collaborative product development workplace enabling dramatically reduced development time and increased innovation.  We are pleased to play a role in extending Brembo’s leadership position in the automotive industry. " 

Klaus Schaefer, Global Leader, Digital Sales, IBM Product Lifecycle Management, concluded, "  Brembo’s confidence in IBM is testimony to our commitment to provide a total e-business solution for all businesses of all sizes and industries.  ENOVIA Portal Solutions are a key component of IBM Product Lifecycle Management e-business.  These solutions leverage e-business technologies to optimize the product development process and provide an integrated environment federating and optimizing the business processes throughout the extended enterprise. "