Kia Motor Corporation Places $1M Order for Tecnomatix e-Manufacturing Software
18 July 2000
Automotive OEM to Implement eMPower e-Manufacturing Solution for Developing Its Manufacturing Processes
HERZELIYA, Israel - Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd., a pioneer and world leader in e-Manufacturing software solutions, today announced it has received a $1 million follow-on order from Kia Motor Corporation for Tecnomatix eMPower e-Manufacturing software.eMPower software will provide Kia with an e-Manufacturing environment wherein each of their manufacturing plants, contractors and suppliers worldwide can collaborate to develop optimal manufacturing processes, and to update and optimize those processes already in existence. The software will enable Kia to plan their production lines to accommodate different product variants and their changes, and to reuse knowledge and best practices.
"Kia first implemented Tecnomatix software over five years ago and during this period we have consistently achieved a strong ROI," said Oh Young-Ken, Task Force Team Leader of the Digital Innovation Project at Kia Motor Corporation. "Kia's goal is to cut product time-to-market, reduce manufacturing costs by 20% and decrease the need for actual manpower by 10%. The eMPower e-Manufacturing solution will play an integral role in this latest initiative."
"The eMPower e-Manufacturing platform will help us accelerate time to market and time to volume by allowing us to share manufacturing engineering data across the extended enterprise. Any one of our plants will be able to use a process developed by another plant - without duplicating valuable engineering time," concluded Chung Sung-Eun, Director of Kia Body Manufacturing Engineering Division.
"We are pleased that Kia, a long time Tecnomatix customer, is implementing our e-Manufacturing solutions from the very early stages of planning through design and operations," said Harel Beit-On, President and CEO of Tecnomatix. "With mass customization, shorter product life cycles and delivery on-demand reshaping corporate strategies, more and more companies like Kia are adopting our Web-based, e-Manufacturing technology to reach new levels of speed, flexibility and collaboration.
"eMPower will help Kia to improve the new product introduction process throughout the enterprise by allowing them to access and reuse their corporate expertise and knowledge. They will be able to document their processes quickly and easily so that they can transfer the manufacturing information from one plant to the other. In this way, the software will help them to make more informed decisions in the very early stage of planning a new project, including early evaluation of cycle times, project investments and manufacturing costs as well as line performance, throughput and resource utilization."
About Tecnomatix Technologies
Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd. is the world's leading provider of e-Manufacturing solutions that develop, communicate and operate optimal manufacturing processes across the extended enterprise. The Company's software helps manufacturers in the automotive, aerospace, electronics, PCB and heavy equipment industries meet the challenges of e-business by accelerating time to market and time-to-customer, reducing production costs and increasing quality and productivity.
About Kia Motor Corporation
Kia automobiles have earned global recognition for excellence in safety and dynamic performance. Kia's success extends to the most competitive market in the world, the United States where the National Highway and Traffic Safety Agency awarded the Sephia with a four-star safety rating-the industry's highest. At international motor shows, Kia has drawn the media spotlight earning lavish praise for the sophisticated styling of the Sephia, Sportage, Sportage 2-Door and KEV-4 hybrid vehicle. In over 170 countries where Kia vehicles are sold, Kia is know and respected not only for its advanced products but also as a reliable and fair business partner.
Certain statements made herein that use the words "estimate", "project", "intend", "expect", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those which may be expressed or implied by such statements, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions and specifically, changes in the level of activity in the automotive industry, decline in demand to the Company's products, inability to timely develop and introduce new technologies, products and applications and loss of market share and pressure on prices resulting from competition. For additional information regarding these and other risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business, reference is made to the Company's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.