ENOVIA selected by Alenia Spazio to play key role in the development of the International Space Station

ENOVIAVPM to manage Alenia Spazio configured digital mock-up (DMU) process

Rome, Italy and Suresnes, France, June, 8, 2001 – Dassault Systemes (NASDAQ: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), EADS Matra Datavision and IBM announced today that Alenia Spazio, a Finmeccanica company, Italy, has selected ENOVIA Solutions to manage its configured digital mock-up process for the design and manufacturing of subsystems for the International Space Station (ISS). Alenia Spazio is the major European contractor for the ISS and, on behalf of the Italian and European space agencies, the company is building nearly half of the pressurized elements. The engineering activities are performed using CATIA. The contract includes ENOVIAVPM licences supported by consulting and engineering services.

“The introduction of ENOVIAVPM is a very important step to shorten our product development cycles and to manage more efficiently our projects which are constantly increasing in size and complexity” commented Marco Alemanni, I&CT Manager at Alenia Spazio. “ We clearly expect significant benefits from the support ENOVIAVPM will provide to our new business processes where our configured digital mock-ups will be available across the enterprise.”

Within the context of the International Space Station  Project, Alenia Spazio’s engineers will use ENOVIAVPM to manage the Crew Rescue Vehicle’s virtual product development, including the CATIA models and configured digital mock-ups (DMUs). The CRV is a space?shuttle-like vehicle that serves as a sort of lifeboat, enabling the seven permanent ISS crew members to return safely to Earth in the event of a serious emergency.

 “We have been convinced by the power derived from the functionality of ENOVIAVPM and its tight integration with CATIA. Our initial implementation has confirmed this in a short period of time, together with a high level of flexibility. We can now move forward to a more complete deployment and to the use of this global environment on our new projects for the Space Station” added Giorgio Banino, Configuration and Drafting Manager at Alenia Spazio. “Indeed the support and expertise provided by EADS Matra Datavision  have been key in our quick ramp-up for this project”.

“We are pleased to support Alenia Spazio’s efforts on the International Space Station. Their decision clearly illustrates the fast return on investment and the high level of acceptance in the manufacturing industry that our customers enjoy today with ENOVIA Solutions” commented Denis Senpere, vice-president, ENOVIA European operations at Dassault Systemes . “The aerospace industry is well known to be demanding on various aspects such as complexity and diversity management together with security, revision and configuration management. The deployment of digital mock-up across the enterprise and the supply chain strongly contributes to sustain those requirements” .

“The initial success is really critical for the overall project. This needed a very fast adjustment of methodologies to the new business processes of the customer. We are pleased to hear the appreciation on the expertise of our team by such a well known company as Alenia Spazio” concluded Gianni Buggia, General Manager of EADS Matra Datavision Spa, the company selected by Alenia Spazio to implement ENOVIAVPM across the enterprise.

When searching for a system to handle such complex configurations as Alenia Spazio ones, it’s key to turn to a high-performance, user-friendly solution capable of managing configurations, documents and modifications with accuracy to meet the company’s “zero defects” policy. ENOVIA’s extensive capabilities in managing simultaneously the product tree, data archives, and modifications are essential functions to the success of such a complex project as the CRV. And, the high degree of integration between ENOVIA and CATIA will make development processes more efficient and effective, and enable the company  to collaborate with its customers and suppliers with ease.