PLM software streamlines engineering processes

Market leader in plastics fuel tank systems is using product life management solutions to streamline engineering processes throughout its supply chain and reduce product development costs.

MatrixOne, the leading provider of collaborative product lifecycle management solutions for the value chain, has announced that Kautex Textron is extending its existing deployment of MatrixOne's PLM solutions globally.

Kautex Textron, which is headquartered in Germany, belongs to the Industrial Business Group of Textron and is the world market leader in the production of plastic fuel tank systems.

With the support of MatrixOne partner CSC Ploenzke, Kautex Textron successfully implemented the MatrixOne solution, allowing the company to focus on its engineering processes.

Kautex Textron has subsequently decided to roll-out this solution globally and simultaneously extend it to project management and supplier integration.

Spanning all functional areas, MatrixOne's PLM environment will provide real-time visibility into all project information and status from any Kautex Textron location, reducing time-to-market and optimising product quality.

"Thanks to the implementation of the MatrixOne solution, we have already achieved major improvements in our engineering processes, such as a unification of BOMs (Bill of Material) and a central management of CAD data," says Christoph Hermes, CIO at Kautex Textron GmbH.

"The next step of implementing the MatrixOne solution globally is crucial to our goal of providing process standardisation and real global collaboration in engineering.

Moreover, this state-of-the-art PLM platform will allow us to centralise our project management and to integrate our suppliers into the PLM system, which will streamline sharing of information with all our partners around the globe." Most important to Kautex Textron is also the ability to streamline and accelerate the processes of Part Management, ECRs (Engineering Change Request) and ECOs (Engineering Change Order) via the Matrix10 solution.

With the complete deployment of the system, more than 600 internal users across 31 locations will be supported by the PLM platform, as well as 150 external suppliers of the company.

"Kautex Textron's decision to use the MatrixOne PLM environment reflects the increasing need for global collaboration in product development and the industry trend towards best-in-class and easy-to-implement Product Lifecycle Management solutions," said Chris Nicolaes, MatrixOne's Regional Director, Central Europe.

"With our solutions-which provide efficiency by integrating suppliers in the engineering process-Kautex Textron will be able to increase its competitive advantage as a leading manufacturer of high quality products for the automotive industry." About Kautex Textron - founded in 1935, Kautex Textron belongs today to the industrial business unit of Textron and supports its customers in the automotive and packaging industries with over 5,250 employees in 31 locations worldwide.

Among its main products are plastic tank fuel systems, a sector in which Kautex Textron is the world market leader.

About MatrixOne - MatrixOne (NASDAQ: MONE) is a recognised leader in delivering collaborative Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions.

We provide flexible solutions that unleash the creative power of global value chains to inspire innovations and speed them to market.

MatrixOne's customers include global leaders in the aerospace and defense, automotive, consumer products, high technology, life sciences, machinery, and process industries, including Agilent Technologies, General Electric, Honda, Johnson Controls, Philips, Procter and Gamble, Siemens, and Toshiba.

MatrixOne is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts, USA, with locations throughout North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific.

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