| LONDON, ENGLAND – June 09, 2004 –
IBM and CenitDesktop, an IBM Business Partner,
today announced that LTI Vehicles, Britain's premier manufacturer
of purpose-built taxis, has migrated to IBM Product Lifecycle
Management (PLM) Solutions for the development of its
entire line of vehicles. The software will help taxi design
teams implement new features to make the vehicles more
comfortable, convenient and safe. CenitDesktop is managing
the implementation at LTI's Coventry-based manufacturing
facility. LTI Vehicles cited increased global demand
for its taxis and the ensuing expansion of product variations
as the critical reason for the investment in PLM. As more
of LTI's vehicles are designed for export, they must meet
varying customer demands and international vehicle regulations.
LTI Limited chose IBM and CenitDesktop because of their
combination of powerful solutions backed by industry-specific
skills and experience working with the world's leading
automakers.
Hailed as the world's best purpose-built taxi, LTI's
new TXII is the centerpiece of the company's technological
transformation and is the base for a new family of taxis
to be designed and built over the next decade. Using IBM
PLM Solutions, LTI engineers will maintain the taxis'
globally-recognized form and enhance them with a wealth
of built-in features that offer comfort, convenience and
safety and that also satisfy the needs of wheelchair users
and the visually and hearing impaired. The easy-to-use
product development platform will enable the engineers
to focus on innovation, rather than data entry.
LTI chose CenitDesktop as its partner for the implementation
of the IBM PLM Solutions, CATIA V5 and SMARTEAM. CenitDesktop's
in-depth expertise in a wide range of PLM applications
enabled them to support LTI in the migration from their
existing design platform to CATIA V5 and SMARTEAM.
"CenitDesktop provided the methodologies we required
to successfully migrate data from our old system. We're
advancing much more quickly than we ever thought possible,"
said Ian Mullen, LTI Vehicles manufacturing director.
After initial training on the new solution, CenitDesktop's
technology transfer program helped LTI streamline processes
and develop best practices. Cenit's on-site and telephone
assistance contributed to the smooth and rapid implementation.
Said Mullen, "We can't fault the service we've had from
CenitDesktop, it has been first class."
Geoff Haines, managing director, CenitDesktop, said,
"LTI has been a loyal customer of ours for many years,
and their migration to IBM PLM Solutions is an emphatic
endorsement of the quality and value we deliver. I am
sure that LTI will gain a significant business advantage
through this change."
Mullen added, "The strategy behind this important investment
is to leverage the power of innovative technologies in
order to meet growing market demand. We are combining
this powerful product design technology with our heritage
of fine craftsmanship to penetrate new markets and deliver
new and innovative renditions of our famous 'black cab'
as well as some totally new models. This PLM implementation
has already produced a significant improvement to our
design processes."
"Even a successful, venerated company like LTI can
benefit from streamlined processes and improved innovative
capabilities," said Klaus Schaefer, vice president, IBM
Product Lifecycle Management, Europe, Middle East and
Africa. "LTI's increased sales volume is proof that PLM
investments pay off. IBM remains dedicated to their success
and we will continue to work with our business partners
to develop and deliver PLM Solutions and industry expertise
that support client success."
CenitDesktop is a Premier IBM Business Partner, selling
IBM PLM Solutions, including CATIA, ENOVIA, and SMARTEAM
applications developed by Dassault Systemes, and IBM middleware
and services.
About LTI Limited
LTI Limited is Britain's premier manufacturer of purpose-built
taxis. We are universally recognised for giving the UK
the 'black cab', the icon of the world's best taxi system.
Part of Manganese Bronze Holdings (http://www.manganese.com/)
plc, we employ over 450 people at our Coventry manufacturing
plant and wholly-owned Mann & Overton (http://www.mannandoverton.com/)
dealerships in London, Birmingham, Bristol and Manchester.
A further six franchised dealerships and 67 service agents
complete a nationwide sales, service and support network.
The first-ever black cab left the company's Coventry factory
in 1948. Since then, more than 100,000 vehicles have rolled
off the production line. Nowadays, LTI taxis can be seen
in large numbers on the streets of London and other cities
and towns in Britain and around the world, including North
America (http://www.ltna.com/).
We pride ourselves on the robust design of our hand-built
vehicles, which are renowned for their longevity and ability
to cover hundreds of thousands of miles during a lifetime
of use. We continue to invest significantly in developing
the best purpose-built taxis. The latest incarnation of
the black cab is the TXII (http://www.lti.co.uk/thetxii.asp).
Find out more at :
http://www.lti.co.uk.
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company,
with 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate.
IBM Sales & Distribution, which supports more than a dozen
key industries worldwide, works with companies of all
sizes around the world to deploy the full range of IBM
technologies. The fastest way to get more information
about IBM is through the IBM home page at
http://www.ibm.com.
About CENITDESKTOP
CenitDesktop is a leading integrator and reseller of collaborative
software and systems, serving a focused section of industries
throughout the UK from its office in Oxford. Formed by
the merger of Desktop Engineering Ltd and Cenit Ltd the
company has been successful in serving the design and
engineering software needs of manufacturing industry for
over 18 years. More information is available on:
www.cenitdesktop.com.
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