Now that its acquisition of Tecnomatix Technology Ltd. is complete, UGS Corp. will market the former company's manufacturing process management (MPM) software as its digital manufacturing brand, and plans to fully integrate the product into its Teamcenter PLM offering.
The completion of the $228 million cash acquisition of Tecnomatix, positions UGS as a global provider of solutions that reach from the shop floor to the enterprise, according to UGS officials and industry analysts. In addition, UGS will continue to offer Tecnomatix MPM as an open standalone solution that can be integrated with a manufacturing customer's PLM environment of choice, said Jaron Lotan, vice president of product development for UGS' Tecnomatix product line, in a Webcast earlier this week.
"Tecnomatix brings design management tools and a very manufacturing focused offering, while UGS brings enterprise scope and global scope to offer a new level of technology for manufacturers," Lotan said. "The new product is very open and allows users to follow an open architecture approach to doing business," he added, noting that Tecnomatix will still be able to integrate with a manufacturer's PLM system of choice. UGS and Tecnomatix have been working together for the past decade and have been strategic partners since 2002.
However, UGS' integration plans met mixed reviews from analysts and users. "For UGS, this certainly positions them more aggressively in the market," said Kevin Mixer, research director, automotive and heavy equipment industries, AMR Research. "The digital manufacturing will differentiate UGS from competitors, but the customers have to be ready technologically to make the move" to digital manufacturing.
"The customers, including both GM and Ford, were very strong advocates of having these platforms come together," Mixer added. "But, candidly, I thought a lot more [of the integration] would have been mapped out ahead of time. Instead, the customers seem to be driving the integration plan and UGS needs to get control of that and get ahead of the curve," adding that the longer the integration is driven by individual customers, the more complex and fragmented the end product may eventually become.
"The good news is that the integration is being driven by customers. The bad news is that it is being driven by customers," Mixer said. "There needs to be rationalization about the way this goes in the future. How does this get embraced into the entire UGS product suite? How does this provide functionality for existing users? These types of things need to be mapped out."
UGS is offering a product that is very different from other products on the market, Mixer said. However, the integration timeline -- essentially mapping out the blueprint for the integration so the combined product can be resold -- needs to be short. "In market share, UGS is well positioned to take a dominant role, but the time line is a factor. If it takes 36 months to get to market with the new [integrated] products, it may be a problem," he said.
For existing customers, the integration should provide benefits in the short term. One customer of both Tecnomatix and UGS is very excited about the integration. Coast Composites Inc., a tier-three designer and manufacturer of large precision tooling systems for the aerospace industry, has been a user of UGS and Tecnomatix for more than 15 years. "The integration of the platforms saves us time and money. If there is a single [PLM] model for the entire business -- that streamlines everything for us," said Steve Anthony, Coast Composites' senior systems manager, in an interview.
Moreover, Anthony is happier that Tecnomatix' products are in UGS hands. "To be frank, UGS is a better company to hold the technology. I know what to expect from UGS," in terms of service, support and product enhancements. Enhancements for Coast Composites' version of Tecnomatix' eMPower -- the vendor's MPM solution suite that supports the entire manufacturing process lifecycle from process planning to engineering to full production -- have been nonexistent for the past 10 years, Anthony said. "We have been asking for enhancements, but aerospace isn't a big market for [Tecnomatix]. We will definitely see some enhancements from UGS," he added. However, Tecnomatix officials stated that eMPower has been enhanced numerous times over the years. Specifically, Coast Composites is using eMPower for Quality, or eM-Quality, a single application in the eMPower software family of products, according to Tecnomatix.
Although Anthony admits that he hasn't been formally notified about the integration by UGS, nonetheless he expects good things to come. "UGS has the best software and technical support in the industry," Anthony pointed out. "The cash infusion should help the enhancement of eMPower for us. We are very happy with this integration."