Gretag Imaging Selects ENOVIA as its e-business Solutions for Engineering

Gretag Imaging, the world's leading provider of equipment and systems for photofinishing and imaging, IBM and Dassault Systemes announced today that Gretag Imaging has selected ENOVIA Solutions for managing the design and development of its photo finishing equipment.

Regensdorf (Switzerland) and Paris (France), April 27, 2000--The agreement includes the purchase of 40 ENOVIAVPM seats, 120 ENOVIA Portal licenses, and consulting services and training from Helbling Informatik AG and IBM. Gretag Imaging will use ENOVIAVPM to manage the thousands of parts it develops in CATIA Solutions for the manufacture and assembly of its minilab and central photo finishing lab machines.

ENOVIAVPM is part of ENOVIA Portfolio, a set of e-business solutions that make manufacturers more competitive by helping them manage electronically all aspects of the product life cycle. CATIA Solutions is the world’s leading computer-aided design, manufacturing and engineering (CAD/CAM/CAE) software. ENOVIA and CATIA are developed by Dassault Systemes S.A., and marketed, sold and supported worldwide by IBM’s Engineering Solutions business unit and IBM Business Partners.

Gretag Imaging will use ENOVIAVPM to manage the design of the mechanical components and assemblies of its photo finishing labs. Typically, a lab consists of 2000 to 5000 parts. It may be designed by up to 10 different engineers working at various Gretag sites. The collaborative engineering capabilities of ENOVIAVPM, with the ability to exchange real-time data throughout the entire organisation was crucial to Gretag Imaging. In addition, Gretag Imaging chose ENOVIAVPM through its capacity to manage such a large number of parts efficiently and to enable design-in-context. These and other capabilities will help make the transition from components to the finished lab simply and easily, and ensure a perfect mechanical fit the first time a machine is assembled.

In addition, in implementing ENOVIA Portal, Gretag Imaging will give non-engineering teams access to product data as needed. These e-business capabilities will contribute to greater efficiency throughout the company, as designers share graphical product information with such teams as purchasing, inspection, and production in real time.

Commenting on the primary reason for selecting ENOVIA, Andreas Thomann, mechanical CAD/CAM manager for Gretag Imaging said, "It’s simple: we chose ENOVIAVPM for the competitive advantage it will give us. It will help reduce our development time by about 20 percent, all the while improving the quality of our machines."

Scott Hopkins, vice president digital enterprise sales, IBM Engineering Solutions, added: "IBM is pleased to count this premier imaging company among our ENOVIA customers. We are confident that ENOVIAVPM will meet Gretag Imaging’s most stringent demands for engineering collaboration, and help make them one of the most competitive imaging technology providers in the world."