PLANO, Texas, July 16, 2012 - Siemens PLM Software, a business unit of the Siemens Industry Automation Division and a leading global provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) software and services, today announced that Futuris Automotive, a leading provider of automotive seating and interior trim, has selected the Seat Design Environment (SDE) portfolio of software for engineering transportation seating and interiors to develop seat trim covers for a number of premier automotive manufacturers, including General Motors, Ford, Tesla, Chery and JAC (Jianghuai Automotive Company). Futuris also plans to use SDE for all new programs in North America, China, Australia, Thailand and other regions.
“Time is of the essence in the automotive business, whether you’re talking about preparing bids or delivering new products,” said Brian Thiele, Executive Manager, Engineering & Development, at Futuris. “Based on our evaluation, we believe that SDE will enable us to save a significant amount of time, perhaps as much as two weeks in the development of initial flat patterns. The addition of this technology will complement our existing processes and add to our competitive advantage”.
Futuris will use SDE, the first-ever seat design software application that addresses the entire seat engineering process, to streamline the process for creating flat patterns, trim costing and manufacturing documentation. SDE enables engineers to capture a complete digital product definition of a seat system, which accurately and efficiently shares design detail, drastically reduces the need for physical prototyping and reduces time-to-market.
“Seat cover manufacturers need to get to market quickly and on budget,” said Ed Bernardon, Vice President, Strategic Automotive Initiatives, Specialized Engineering Software, Siemens PLM Software. “SDE empowers manufacturers to meet this goal by enabling them to efficiently create the engineering and manufacturing documents and data needed to fully define seat trim covers. This is done through the user interface that matches the processes and approach used by engineers to produce seat trim covers. We’re particularly pleased to have the opportunity to work with Futuris, one of the leading suppliers for seating systems, to help them meet their targets in an increasingly competitive market.”
SDE was originally developed by Vistagy, Inc., which was acquired by Siemens on December 6, 2011. The company now comprises the Specialized Engineering Software business segment within Siemens PLM Software.