Dassault Systemes and Avatech Solutions Finalize SMARTEAM PLM Solutions Distribution Agreement.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers PARIS Paris, in Greek mythology Paris or Alexander, in Greek mythology, son of Priam and Hecuba and brother of Hector. Because it was prophesied that he would cause the destruction of Troy, Paris was abandoned on Mt. & BALTIMORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 31, 2003 Dassault Systemes Dassault Systemes (Dassault Systèmes S.A.) (Pronounced - Dasoh) (NASDAQ: DASTY; Euronext: 13065) is a leading company specializing in 3D and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) software. (Nasdaq:DASTY; Euronext Paris Euronext Paris is France's securities market, formerly known as the Paris Bourse, which merged with the Amsterdam and Brussels exchanges in September 2000 to form Euronext NV, which is the second largest exchange in Europe behind the London Stock Exchange. : #13065, DSY DSY Drum Storage Yard .PA), and Avatech Solutions, Inc., (OTCBB OTCBB See OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB). :AVSO AVSO Association of Voluntary Service Organisations ) today announced the signing of a distribution agreement under which Avatech will significantly expand its marketing, sales and services in North America with integrated SMARTEAM Product Lifecycle Management (PLM (Product Life cycle Management) A comprehensive information system that coordinates all aspects of a product from initial concept to its eventual retirement. Sometimes called the "digital backbone" of a product, it includes the requirements phase, analysis and design ) solutions from Dassault Systemes. As a Dassault Systemes Business Partner, Avatech will bring the SMARTEAM PLM solution to its existing 18,000-customer base. Dassault Systemes will provide an initial investment to enable Avatech to ramp up Ramp Up To increase a company's operations in anticipation of increased demand. Notes: A company might 'ramp up' operations if they just signed a contract creating substantially more demand for their product. See also: Demand, Economies of Scale its practice and will benefit from Avatech's focus on the small and medium-sized businesses (SMB (1) (Small to Medium-sized Business) Also called "SME" (small to medium-sized enterprise), it refers to companies that are larger than the small office/home office (SOHO), but not huge. ) space - the fastest growing segment of the PLM market. "We are very pleased about our partnership with Avatech. The creation of Avatech's PLM Practice centered around Dassault Systemes PLM solutions will bring tremendous value to Avatech's customers and Dassault Systemes," said Philippe Forestier, executive vice president Alliances, Marketing and Communications, Dassault Systemes. "Our partnership will allow us to better reach out to the mid-market in North America, especially in the Building Design Industry, and consequently to increase our market share in this segment." Leveraging Digital Design Assets Dassault Systemes PLM solutions help organizations innovate, improve quality, and reduce both costs and product development times. They also help companies collaborate internally, across geographic boundaries and with suppliers and customers. Avatech's PLM practice will enable the delivery of complete PLM solutions to companies in a variety of industries, including manufacturing, building design, facilities management, homeland security, pharmaceuticals and petro-chemicals - allowing these organizations to capitalize on their digital design assets while having their needs met from a single-source provider. "This agreement represents a strategic step in establishing Avatech as a premier player in the PLM space and introducing it to multiple key markets," said Scotty Walsh, CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of Avatech Solutions. "Our customers want a market-proven PLM solution with multi-CAD platform support. SMARTEAM fits that profile and will play a key role in diversifying and rounding out our solutions offerings." Dedicated PLM Team Avatech's go-to-market strategy includes the formation of a sales and technical team dedicated to the PLM practice. This team of highly skilled, industry-experienced individuals will work in conjunction with the existing national sales and service organization, ensuring that customers' broad range of product and service needs are met. About SmarTeam Corporation Ltd. SmarTeam Corporation Ltd. develops, markets, and supports rapidly implemented, yet totally customizable, product lifecycle collaboration solutions that drive efficiency, quality and responsiveness for customer centric organizations and their value chains. Founded in 1995, SmarTeam is one of the fastest-growing companies in the PLM market with over 2,500 customers worldwide, and a broad solutions portfolio that enables manufacturing organizations and their supply chains to efficiently manage and collaborate on product information from concept through realization. SmarTeam's solutions help companies gain improvements in product quality, reduce costs, expedite project turnaround, comply with industry standards, and shorten time-to-market. SMARTEAM products are marketed through the IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) global organization and other leading resellers on every continent. Information about SmarTeam is available at http://www.smarteam.com About Dassault Systemes As world leader in PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) solutions, the Dassault Systemes group brings value to more than 65,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3D software market since 1981, Dassault Systemes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entire life cycle of products from conception to retirement. Its offering includes integrated PLM solutions for product development (CATIA A family of 2D and 3D CAD programs from IBM. CATIA was one of the first CAD programs to provide 3D solid modeling. The program was developed by Dassault Systems, a French aerospace company. , ENOVIA, DELMIA DELMIA Digital Enterprise Lean Manufacturing Interactive Application , SMARTEAM), general-use 3D solutions (SolidWorks), and 3D components (SPATIAL). Dassault Systemes is listed on the Nasdaq (DASTY) and Euronext Paris (#13065, DSY.PA) stock exchanges. For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com About Avatech Solutions Avatech Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB:AVSO) is a leading provider of design automation and PLM solutions for the manufacturing, building design, engineering markets. Headquartered in Owings Mills, Maryland Owings Mills is an unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,193 at the 2000 census. Owings Mills is home to the northern terminus for the Baltimore Metro Subway and to Owings Mills Mall. , the company specializes in software development, technical support, training and consulting aimed at improving design and documentation efficiencies and the seamless integration of workflow processes. Avatech is one the largest integrators of Autodesk software worldwide and a leading provider of engineering document management solutions. The company serves 18,000 clients worldwide including the industry leaders from Fortune 500 and Engineering News Record's Top 100 companies. Visit http://www.avatechsolutions.com for more information. This press release contains forward-looking statements about the expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions and strategies of Avatech Solutions, Inc. There are a number of important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated by any forward-looking information. A description of risks and uncertainties attendant to Avatech and its industry, and other factors that could affect Avatech's financial results, are included in Avatech's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, but not limited to, the annual report on Form 10-KSB for the year ended December 31, 2001 of PlanetCAD, Inc. (now Avatech Solutions, Inc.), quarterly reports on Form 10-QSB for the quarters ended March 31 and September 30, 2002, the Proxy Statement/Prospectus included in PlanetCAD's registration statement on Form S-4 relating to the PlanetCAD-Avatech merger, the current report on Form 8-K Form 8-K The form required by the SEC when a publicly held company incurs any event that might affect its financial situation or the share value of its stock. Form 8-K See 8-K. filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 30, 2003 and the quarterly report on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the quarter ended March 31, 2003. Investors and shareholders may obtain a free copy of the documents filed by Avatech Solutions, Inc. with the Commission at the Commission's web site at www.sec.gov. The documents also may be obtained for free by directing a request to Melody Craigmyle, Director of Corporate Communications at 410-581-8080 or email MCraigmyle@avatechsolutions.com. SMARTEAM is a registered trademark of Dassault Systemes. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion