PTC raises a glass to contract gain

A PTC - Parametric Technology (UK) product story

Edited by the Engineeringtalk editorial team Jun 18, 2002

PTC has secured a deal that has the potential to shape the future of packaging design for leading drinks companies including Scottish Courage, Anheuser Busch, Interbrew and Allied Distillers.

PTC has secured a deal that has the potential to shape the future of packaging design for leading drinks companies including Scottish Courage, Anheuser Busch, Interbrew and Allied Distillers.

PTC has signed a contract to supply United Glass (UG), one of the UK's leading glass packaging companies, with its market leading Pro/Engineer product suite and its collaborative design management solution Pro/Collaborate.

The deal, worth GBP 250,000, will enable UG to become the first glass company in the UK to offer its customers an end to end 3D design service.

By implementing the solution, UG is aiming to reduce the cost of new product development associated with failures of sample bottles and improve productivity.

The company is also looking to PTC to help reduce the time taken to bring new products to market by up to one third, thereby improving the response to customer requests and raising service levels.

3D visualisations of finished products have become common since United Glass introduced the concept in 1992.

Despite this, all glassmakers still create the actual bottle design using two-dimensional drawing packages and do not actually move to 3D until the mould is manufactured.

The PTC solution will mean all phases of design are implemented in 3D thus reducing potentially costly errors arising from misinterpretation of 2D drawings.

United Glass is one of the UK's leading suppliers of packaging solutions to the UK drinks industry and the company has major facilities in both Harlow in Essex and Alloa in Scotland.

The purchase of Pro/Engineer and associated hardware will, for the first time, enable designers to present and share 3D bottle models with customers using the functionality of Pro/Collaborate.

Customers will be able to take advantage of Pro/Engineer's and Pro/Collaborate's functionality and view and manipulate a 3D concept of the design as opposed to a static visualisation.

The investment will also reduce lead times taken to introduce a new product, by enabling bottle and mould drawings to be undertaken concurrently.

Pilot implementation has begun and customers will very soon be able to see the benefits.

United Glass proposes to have its entire design centre equipped with and fully trained in Pro/Engineer by September 2002.

Commenting on the contract win, PTC's Northern European Marketing Director, Nigel Rodliffe said, "United Glass is a company that is leading its sector by putting the development of market leading products at the forefront of its business strategy.

In the fast moving and fickle world of consumer brands, innovative packaging can play a key role in a product's success.

PTC's strategy of developing and providing a full range of solutions to enable its customers to create, collaborate and control all aspects of the product lifecycle will enable companies like United Glass to maintain a competitive edge through innovative product development".

Keith Reynolds, design centre manager at United Glass, says, "This is a major step change for the design process in our industry.

Initial feedback from our designers and customers is that the 3D drawing environment is going to improve both the creative output and the efficiency of our design department.

In addition, we expect the benefits to be felt right through the supply chain from our mould makers, through manufacturing and delivery to customer service".