Kia Mtrs Compl'ts Frst Phase of EDM Proj't Based on Tecnomatix eMPower Solution.
NASHUA, N.H.--Jan. 22, 2002--Korea's Leading Automotive Manufacturer Using eMPower to Minimize
Costs, Improve Productivity from Design through Manufacturing
Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd. , the leading provider of Manufacturing Process Management (MPM) software solutions, announced today that Kia Motors, the leading Korean automotive manufacturer, has successfully completed the first phase of its enterprise Digital Manufacturing (eDM) project using Tecnomatix eMPower(TM) solutions.
Kia has been using Tecnomatix manufacturing software since 1995 to design, simulate and perform off-line programming for its spot-welding processes. The eDM project was initiated to implement eMPower product simulation solutions in its manufacturing center to increase productivity, reduce costs and increase efficiency throughout the engineering development environment. Phase I of the eDM project included implementation of the initial eMPower engineering and simulation solutions and proof-of-concept of the eM-Planner solution in Kia's Final Assembly division.
With the successful completion of Phase I in Kia's Car Body, Final Assembly, Powertrain and Press/Die divisions, Kia is moving on to Phase II - a more comprehensive implementation of MPM which will incorporate eMPower Quality and eMPaint and extend to additional Kia divisions. By Phase III, Kia expects to have completed implementing MPM solutions throughout its manufacturing engineering organization.
"We are planning to move on to eDM Phase II in the new year, and Tecnomatix is a key partner helping us to achieve our goal to join the world's top five automobile manufacturers," said Dr. Oh Youngkun, Kia Motors' eDM team leader, in a recent presentation at the Tecnomatix MPM Forum in Tokyo, Japan. "Technology innovation is a top priority for Kia and we expect to improve our profitability by upgrading technology from design to manufacturing, allowing us to minimize costs and improve productivity. We now have the eMPower simulation solutions in place as a standard across our organization. For eDM Phase II, we are going to expand our implementation of Tecnomatix MPM solutions."
"Kia Motors recognizes the importance of Manufacturing Process Management, and has been using Tecnomatix solutions for several years to maintain its competitive edge and grow its market share worldwide," said Harel Beit-On, chairman and chief executive officer of Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd. "Properly managing your global supply, manufacturing and distribution networks is key to survival in today's highly competitive environment, and Kia is taking full advantage of the solutions and technologies we have available to ensure their success."
About Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd.
Tecnomatix Technologies, Ltd. (NASDAQ : TCNO) is the world's leading provider of Manufacturing Process Management software for the electronics, automotive, aerospace and heavy equipment industries. The company's eMPower(TM) software enables global manufacturing customers to build the best production strategies to succeed in their increasingly complex environments. Tecnomatix applications run on an open platform providing a collaborative environment for authoring, simulating and managing manufacturing processes across the extended enterprise and its suppliers. The company, founded in 1983, has offices and distributors in North America, Europe, the Pacific Rim and Latin America. Additional information about the company can be found at www.tecnomatix.com.
About Kia Motors Corporation
Kia was founded in 1944 as a manufacturer of steel tubing and bicycle parts and quickly evolved into the manufacture of motorcycles and trucks. Kia was the first to manufacture bicycles and automobiles in Korea ; the company's Hwasung manufacturing plant now covers more than 3.3 million square meters and total Kia production capacity now exceeds 1.15 million vehicles a year. Today, there are more than two million Kia vehicles in service on the roads of more than 164 countries.
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