Case Study
Global PLM implementation creates platform for growth
Bolzoni Auramo Group
With Teamcenter, NX and Siemens PLM Software support, this Italian manufacturer turned five worldwide locations into a single, efficient operation
Fueled for growth
Bolzoni Auramo Group’s history dates back to 1945 with the inventive transformation of USA jeeps into vehicles for farm use. Today Bolzoni Auramo Group is a leading producer of attachments for lift trucks. Its long history of innovation allows the company to function as a partner to leading lift truck manufacturers.
In addition to a wide range of attachments for handling paper and other products, Bolzoni develops solutions to satisfy customers’ special applications. “Our catalog includes more than 1,700 attachments designed to offer the maximum flexibility and versatility to the lift truck,” explains Pietro Foroni, chief engineer at Bolzoni.“When you add the customized attachments that we develop daily, our total number of products is much higher. The Research and Development department is highly committed to innovation in our two main product lines: attachments for lift trucks and lift tables.”
Innovation is Bolzoni’s “fuel for growth,” according to CEO Roberto Scotti. The company’s continued success depends on ongoing development of new technical functionality that differentiates Bolzoni from the competition. In addition, the company must turn innovative ideas into actual products faster than its competitors can. These challenges are common to nearly all manufacturers. But lately, Bolzoni has been dealing with another one as well – turning a number of geographically dispersed, newly acquired companies into a smoothly functioning group.“We have made acquisitions in the United States, in Finland and in Germany,” explains Scotti. “One of our big challenges has been how to harmonize all these companies into one group. It is very challenging to get to companies coming from different cultures all working together on the same project.”
Wanted: global partner
Bolzoni’s strategy for meeting these challenges is the use of product lifecycle management (PLM) technology as a framework for collaboration and innovation. The company has implemented the Teamcenter® digital lifecycle management solution from Siemens PLM Software. “Teamcenter is the perfect tool because it gives us the possibility to have, instead of three or four different engineering departments, a single engineering department with global locations,” Scotti explains. “The other thing Teamcenter does is it helps us get innovative products to market sooner because we are much more efficient than we were in the past.”
Bolzoni chose Teamcenter in large part because of the reputation and worldwide presence of Siemens. “We are a small company but we are all over the world,” says Foroni. “We need a partner that can help us everywhere. When we were looking at PLM software, we wanted to be sure that we could have the same service in Finland, in Germany and in Italy, for example. Because Siemens is a worldwide company, it is the right partner for us.” The value of the partnership with Siemens was evident during the Teamcenter implementation. “It went very smoothly,” Scotti recalls. “The people from Siemens did a great job helping us with every aspect and detail of the implementation.”
Another attractive feature for Bolzoni was the flexibility to choose the right version of Teamcenter for each facility. For its facilities in Italy and Germany, for example, Bolzoni chose Teamcenter Express, a quickly installed PDM solution that runs on the Microsoft SQL databases that were already installed at those locations. Finland uses Teamcenter’s more expansive engineering process management solution because it adds product configuration capabilities the company needs for a particular customer. All versions work together to provide seamless integration across the different locations.
Bolzoni uses other software from Siemens including the NX™ digital product development solution and the I-deas® design system. Teamcenter manages the data from all of them. Currently, Bolzoni is in the process a making the transition from I-deas to NX company-wide. The fact that Siemens has a clear migration path between the two systems and that no legacy data will be lost is important to Bolzoni. “That is another reason why we appreciate Siemens,” says Foroni. “They guarantee us the possibility of maintaining all of our legacy data as we standardize on one CAD system.”
Growth and efficiency
Teamcenter manages the entire lifecycle for new products from concept to production, integrating idea management, requirements planning, product development and production information. Data that Teamcenter manages includes tables, drawings, CAD models (new and legacy), FEA models, spreadsheets and production drawings, giving Bolzoni a single source of product information.
Having a single repository for product data allows the engineering departments at the three different locations to function as one. “Our new strategy is not to make the same product in the three different locations, but to make just certain components at each location so we can produce larger volume at each place,” explains Scotti. “We could only do that if the three groups were tightly linked. Teamcenter has been very effective in this area.” Teamcenter is integrated with the company’s SAP enterprise resource planning (ERP) software. This has strengthened integration with Bolzoni’s production facility in Asia, according to Foroni. Teamcenter has also improved collaboration with suppliers “by allowing us to give them only the information that is relevant for them,” Foroni adds.
Teamcenter has allowed Bolzoni to grow without increasing the size of its technical staff. Foroni notes,“The number of people working in our technical department has stayed basically the same over the past 10 years, even though our business has grown and we’re selling more complex products. This is possible only because we are using Teamcenter.” CEO Scotti sees the main Teamcenter value in terms of how it helps the company compete.“PLM has helped us be more efficient in a variety of areas,” he says.“The result is that we can go to market with a new product in a very short time.”
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Challenges:
- Integrate worldwide acquisitions into a cohesive whole
- Constantly innovate
- Bring new technology to market before the competition
Keys To Success:
- Implementation services and on-going partnership with Siemens
- Integrated CAD, PLM and ERP systems
- Single source of product information
- Support for legacy CAD data
Results:
- One highly collaborative engineering department with worldwide locations
- New products to market in a very short time
- Growth without increase in technical staff
Industry:
- Machinery & Industrial
Client's Primary Business:
Bolzoni Auramo designs and produces attachments for lift trucks and lift tables.
Business Initiatives:
- Commonization & Re-use
- Enterprise Data Management
- Value Chain Synchronization
Solutions/Services:
- NX
- NX I-deas
- Teamcenter
- Teamcenter Express
- Velocity Series
Client Location:
Casoni di Podenzano (PC)
Italy
"I believe that it’s important to have a PLM partner who can help you improve your company and your products. Siemens PLM Software does this for us by providing the best technology in the field along with excellent support."
Roberto Scotti
CEO
Bolzoni S.P.A.
"A PLM system by itself is nothing. You also need people who will help you implement the system in the most effective way. This is what we get with Siemens."
Pietro Foroni
Chief Engineer
Bolzoni S.P.A