SPRING Technologies gains a foothold for French NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS technologies in China

Last June, SPRING Technologies, a major player on the PLM and Digital Factory markets, announced the inauguration of a subsidiary in China, after opening a German operation in 2007. One year down the road, Gilles Battier, CEO, looks back over the company’s first year of experience of life in Asia.

Gilles Battier: “It is a few years since we embarked on an international strategy. We have acquired expertise and know-how for the last 25 years and this has earned recognition in France. Now we can use this to offer dedicated NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS technologies to manufacturers across the globe. We took our first steps forward in Europe with Switzerland first, followed by Germany. Today we are proud to announce that our Beijing subsidiary has recorded its first successes. Since Martine Landon joined us as International Business Director to help us expand our international operations we have already signed four deals with resellers in Beijing and have our first commercial contracts to show for it.
I believe that the Chinese market is one of the biggest for the manufacturing industry, and even if, right now, the level of technology used in China is not up to the same standard as in other countries, Chinese companies are progressing fast and know that, to close the gap and get the right tools for the job, they have a lot to win by looking abroad and opting for technologies from leading edge companies like SPRING Technologies.
Finally, the Asian market has two significant advantages for us: firstly, our presence there means that we can address the needs of our long-established customers in the West who start operations in China; secondly, we are ready to enter a very big sector to address the needs of local manufacturers in terms of digital factory solutions.”

The latest international news from SPRING Technologies, point by point
• Martine Landon is appointed International Business Director
After holding several management positions in international groups in the fields of machining and development projects, Martine Landon, a doctor in material science from the Ecole des Mines engineering school and holder of an MBA in management from the ESCP (Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Paris) business school, has joined SPRING Technologies as International Business Director.
Her mission is to work with senior management to set out a commercial, marketing and distribution strategy for the company’s “NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS” offering as part of its international expansion plan. Martine Landon also manages the German and Chinese subsidiaries and is working on a plan to start operations in the USA in 2010.
• The first four resellers in China
In addition to its local sales team in China, SPRING Technologies now has four resellers, two of which are based in Beijing, one in Chengdu (south-west) and the other in Changchun (north-east). Martine Landon’s goal is to strengthen this indirect sales network, adding new SPRING Technologies resellers and partners to cover this vast territory.
• The first Chinese customer: CAST
The company CAST is part of the CASC group, spearhead of the Chinese aerospace industry. CAST has been working since 1968 on the design of spaceships and satellites for meteorological, television, communication, technological and other applications. CAST is the lead designer and manufacturer of the new rocket that carried the taikonauts into space last November. Its goal is to be the second nation to successfully complete a lunar landing. To support this mission, it has chosen the complete SPRING Technologies NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS offering.
This is because CAST’s business requires leading edge techniques and technologies, notably for machining simulation. CAST is an established customer of SPRING Technologies in China, and since SPRING opened its Beijing subsidiary, has demonstrated its trust in NCSIMUL Machine (the machining simulation software that is part of the French vendor’s digital workshop offering), by reinvesting in new licences, and other products in the range. Moreover, it has shown its commitment to SPRING Technologies by accompanying the company at official ceremonies. This ceremony was inaugurated by the French Ambassador Hervé LADSOUS and Mr Gérard POIRIER of DASSAULT AVIATION, representative of the Executive Committee of the Paris region branch of the SYSTEM@TIC competitiveness cluster.
Partnerships set up by SPRING Technologies
In addition to creating the subsidiary, developing the reseller network, and signing new contracts, SPRING Technologies has also, in the space of just one year, established solid partnerships with Chinese organisations.
• Schenyang Productivity Centre This centre’s mission is to help local manufacturers to increase their productivity. SPRING Technologies has supplied its complete NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS offering (NCSIMUL Machine, NCSIMUL TOOL, TOOL SIMUL and NCSIMUL PUBLISHER) to equip the training centre in Schenyang.
• Tsinghua University, China’s foremost university and INRIA. SPRING Technologies has been working with these two prestigious institutions on a research programme dedicated to the NCSIMUL SOLUTIONS, and more specifically to modeling parts used by the workshop in NURBS format, with the support of the scientific mission of the French Embassy.
• SPRING Technologies, member of BIANE. SPRING Technologies is the only Western company to have gained membership of the Chinese association of machine manufacturers in Beijing.

Conclusion by Gilles Battier: “our history over the last 25 years has been rich from both the human and technological points of view. Our credo since the beginning has always been to win the productivity battle. We have all the assets we need to do just that: the expertise of our teams, a proven methodology, the right tools, intimate knowledge of the world of industry, and now an international footprint. We need to progress in this direction and next year we shall be establishing a bridgehead on the American continent. After Europe in 2007 and China in 2008, 2010 will be the year when we start operations in the USA.”

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