Port Elizabeth - March 2005 >>View Agenda from event CDC recently held a seminar in Port Elizabeth on 10 March 2005 at Summerstrand Inn under the headline of “Taking productivity to a higher level”.

The seminar was hosted, organized, prepared and presented by CDC (CATIA Design Consultants) and was attended by over 80 delegates from all areas of the automotive industry in the Eastern Cape– OEM’s and suppliers alike.

The underlying theme of the seminar was how to apply CATIA technology to boost productivity in automotive tooling design and manufacturing.  In the past, this typically meant installing some kind of CAD system to speed up drawings, supplementing it with some kind of CAM facility for accelerating the manufacturing process.  The reality today is that the global automotive industry is cranking up the pace.  From the days when the development of a new model car took three years or more to develop, today that time is down to 24 months or less, and the OEMs are aiming for a 12-month cycle in the near future.  Such radical change requires equally radical new methods of design and manufacturing.  This is where CATIA fits into the picture as a core strategic solution.  

The event served as a means of addressing the many challenges placed on the South African automotive industry.  Presentations were given on the latest developments in the automotive market locally and worldwide and showed that with CATIA, local companies are also able to offer competitive services into the cutthroat international marketplace.  In industries large and small, CATIA is fast being recognized as a standard - - the common interface ‘language’ among disciplines, companies and processes.  By adopting the same technology as the OEMs, suppliers place themselves in a more favourable position for obtaining and delivering business: as part of an integrated ‘super-factory’, they can become more productive and effective.

Delegates were shown custom-created scenarios of real-live situations in which CATIA is able to effect huge increases in productivity at the same time resulting in better quality, lower-cost products.  CDC illustrated, with actual working examples, how CATIA V5 can be – HAS BEEN! – applied in the total creation of most of the vehicles that today grace our roads.  By using the same advanced technologies across the entire spectrum of activities involved in the product creation process, OEM’s and suppliers are able to avoid costly mistakes, eliminate ambiguities, save time and costs, and increase productivity  as well as enhancing their ability to compete, excel and thrive in today’s high-pressure world of manufacturing. 

Attendees at the event were able to meet with two of IBM’s Senior European executives, Raoul van Engelshoven, Vice President, PLM solutions for IBM Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), and Mike Kuklenko, business director of EMEA Region North, who arrived from France and UK respectively to attend the CATIA automotive seminar and support and endorse the activities of CDC. 

Mike and Raoul commented that the event was of the highest professional and technical standard.  Their overall message on the outlook of the South African automotive industry was that IBM’s Product Lifecycle Management solution is unmistakably relevant to the South African automotive industry.   They highlighted the importance of local suppliers being part of the global supplier base and how IBM, Dassault and CDC play an important role in providing revolutionary, industry-leading functionality and capability to the various local design and manufacturing industries. 

CDC included some of their own customers as guest speakers at their seminar.  Representatives from OEM’s such as DaimlerChrysler and Comau commented on the effective use of CATIA in increasing productivity locally and how CATIA has contributed to their success and in assisting them in opening doors not just locally but also in the international market.  PGF ToolCAD, a local tool room in Port Elizabeth, explained how they had evaluated other CAD/CAM solutions and quickly realised the benefits they would receive in selecting CATIA as their software product of choice.  

A representative from the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University explained how CATIA would be used in their educational training courses and described the facilities available for CATIA training.  Another speaker, a member of TASA (Tooling Association of South Africa) was there from Durban to give a presentation on TASA’s missions and how they assist in the training of toolmakers to better equip them with the latest technologies which are essential for the future survival of our local industry.  He acknowledged that CATIA is fast becoming a necessity in enabling the OEMs to award projects to local instead of overseas tool rooms.

CDC’s aim is to be in the forefront of helping South African manufacturers achieve their potential and gain a rightful foothold in that world.  CDC is able to provide expert advice – not only in the selection of CATIA facilities most suitable to individual needs, and in training users in basic CATIA functionality, but in actual practical usage in the various design and manufacturing industries.  CDC will be hosting similar seminars in the near future in order to continue providing essential information on the latest revolutionary and cutting edge technology that is imperative in this ever-growing and challenging industry of ours.