Customer Report
keytech PLM Supports the Whole Process Chain Thanks to a high level of vertical integration, Benz GmbH Werkzeugsysteme is able to repsond quickly to every customer request. This calls for a high level of process stability, especially with complex tools with many process steps. The simple, secure and transparent editing, documentation, archiving and also the permanent updating of project-relevant documents, data and information are some of the primary administrative challenges for every mid-sized manufacturing company – at the Black Forest aggregate specialist the introduction of the keytech PLM Product Lifecycle Management solution offers an ‘all in one’ solution to support the entire process chain and thus enables the professional management and organization of all data and documents created during the lifecycle of a product.
Innovation, Precision, Passion – Benz GmbH Werkzeugsysteme With the introduction of CNC technology in the 1980s Benz GmbH Wekzeugsysteme from Haslach im Kinzigtal was one of the first companies to offer angle heads and tools for CNC machines. Today their manufacturing emphasis lies primarily on CNC milling aggregates such as angle heads, high-speed spindles and multi-spindle heads for machining centers as well as driven live and static tools for turning and milling machines. Benz Aggregate for the wooden and metal working industries has been one of the market leaders for tool solutions in engineering, in the automotive industry and for aviation and space technology.
At Benz Wekzeugsysteme: Following transition, PLM Solution is perfectly integrated into CAD and ERP Benz Database Consists of 150,000 Items and 350,000 CAD Documents “In contrast to most of our competitors we are very diversified – from process research and development, to engineering and production through comprehensive after sales service,” says Andreas Neumann, Engineering Manager at Benz. At Benz you will find challenging special solutions and large aggregates up to five tons as well as angle heads and small jobs. The vertical integration reflects this diversity – almost all parts are produced in-house to be able to respond as quickly as possible to every customer request. CAD administrator Michael Häberle explains, “This calls for a high level of process stability, especially with complex tools with many process steps. The simple, secure and transparent editing, documentation, archiving and also
Catalog of Requirements when Implementing PLM Vendor Requirements • Core competence in the PDM/DMS Field • Clearly defined contact people and direct communication channels • Expertise in replacing PDM solutions from the existing CAD environment as well as the integration of the exisiting CAD and/or ERP programs at Benz Product Requirements • High standard functionality with little integration complexity. • Integration of island solutions into one system, no application change for engineers • Minimal implementation effort, quick transfer of legacy data • Multi CAD/Multi location/ERP, flexible and company-wide implementation • ‘Look & feel’ user friendly, intuitive user operation, multi language
the permanent updating of project-relevant documents, data and information is a major administrative challenge for us.” In the Benz database there are around 150,000 items and more than 350,000 CAD-type documents as well as about 70,000 2D drawings.
From Island Solutions and Functional Difficulties... Since 2001 Benz GmbH Werkzeugsysteme has been using the PDM (Project Data Management) system that worked with the SolidWorks CAD solution for managing engineering data. Continually increasing demands on data management as well as functional difficulties in classifying parts, managing class list of characteristics or with change management led to an increase in island solutions (such as Excel lists or an access database for change management they created themselves) in the IT environment. Finally, an announcement from the PDM manufacturer that they would no longer service their own solution led to a rethinking of the situation at Benz by those responsible.
...to an integrated an unified platform: keytech PLM Following a recommendation from the CAD reseller to have a vendor compatible data management solution, Benz quickly decided that they should implement a new PDM system. Andreas Neumann: “After having worked through our requirements specification our initial positive impression could not be confirmed and we were initially skeptical whether the path recommended to us was the right one: the standard functionality appeared to be too limited, where it seemed too much customization would be required, the operation didn’t seem so user friendly, the transfer of our large data
volume and the integration of our ERP system seemed too time and cost intensive.” So in the spring of 2012 Benz began a new search process by looking at several PLM solution vendors – from the beginning one of the competitors, keytech PLM, was a step ahead. “With their standard version, keytech PLM already covered many of our requirements and stood out with their deep integration with SolidWorks and the seamless connection to our ERP system,” continues the engineering manager. The implementation phase followed a clearly defined plan with transfer of the legacy data, training and setting a test environment. Since November 1st, 2012 Benz GmbH Wekzeugsysteme has been using keytech PLM as the company-wide information backbone including ERP connection with a total of 50 licenses.
keytech PLM supports the whole process chain Frank Schlupp, CEO of keytech Süd GmbH: “It’s a long way from design to the finished product – keytech PLM supports the entire process chain with an ‘all in one’ solution and enables the professional management and organization of all data and documents produced during the lifecycle of a product.” Even the standard version of the PLM solution offers a comprehensive portfolio of functions for product data and product lifecycle management (PDM and/or PLM), including multi-CAD support, ERP integration, Office/ email connection, concurrent engineering, bill of materials management, geometrical search, classification, configuration management, multiple locations, multi language production of drawings, plot and output management. By expanding to a DMS and ECM system the emphasis lies on departmentwide optimization of all business processes.
Integrated/Continuous Workflow With the implementation of keytech PLM, Benz’s island solutions belong in the past as the integration creates a company-wide continuous workflow from the existing CAD application via the PLM to the ERP system – item
Angle Head with BENZ CAPTO™
data can basically be transferred in both directions. Production planning and purchasing can access technical drawings or bills of material from engineering in real time, whereby access to outdated data and the possible errors associated with it will be avoided. For example, requests from purchasing or production to the engineering department regarding changing drawing formats are reduced to almost zero with keytech; this represents an almost 10% load reduction for the technical department alone with automatically-generated formats when releasing the main drawing.
Effective, fast, transparent and secure business processes At Benz GmbH Wekzeugsysteme keytech PLM supports the entire process chain department-wide; all data and documents created during the lifecycle of a product are directly available to all departments – while the data is created in the engineering department, it can already be used in other departments such as purchasing, dispatch or service. Michael Häberle finishes, “The product creation process has since become more effective, quicker, more transparent and more secure: what previously had to
„We engineers now have considerably more time to concentrate on our actual work.“ - Michael Häberle, Benz GmbH be done by hand as a laborious, complex task prone to errors has been made easier for us now or completely eliminated with keytech PLM and has led to clear optimization of work processes and therefore to increased productivity. A positive side effect: We engineers now have considerably more time to concentrate on our actual work.” Andreas Neumann also sees a positive result: “Our requirements from the PLM solution were extensive and very complex – keytech PLM’s high functionality and flexibility, the fast and problem-free implementation, the deep integration with our CAD and ERP systems, extensive search functions as well as the focus of keytech employees on process and solutions instead
of problem-oriented thoughts gave us the confidence that we had made the right decision and not just to have completely met the current requirements but also to be optimally equipped for future challenges.”
Contact Addresses Author Matthias Holzapfel Johannesstrasse 51 78056 Villingen-Schwenningen Tel.: 07720-959096 Email: redaktion@maxximum-pr.de
Benz GmbH Werkzeugsysteme Andreas Neumann Im Mühlegrün 12 77716 Haslach i.K. Tel.: 07832-7040 Email: info@benz-tools.de Internet: www.benz-tools.de keytech Süd GmbH Frank Schlupp Bahnhofstrasse 39 72172 Sulz am Neckar Tel.: 07454-960380 Email: mail@keytech.de Internet: www.keytech.de/en Michael Häberle Engineer and Andreas Neumann Leader Engineering at Benz
Benz GmbH Werkzeugsysteme
keytech Software GmbH
Benz GmbH Werkzeugsysteme located in Haslach im Kinzigtal develops and manufactures aggregates for the wood and metal working industries. Since the company’s founding in 1946 Benz initially manufactured components for agriculture, with the introduction of CNC technology in the 1980s Benz was one of the first companies to offer angle heads and tools for CNC machines in the metal working industry and then later aggregates for the wood working industry. They primarily produce CNC milling aggregates such as angle heads, highspeed spindles and multi-spindle heads for machining centers as well as driven live and static tools for turning and milling machines. Benz Aggregate for the wooden and metal working industries has been one of the market leaders for tool solutions in engineering, in the automotive and the aviation industry and for space technology. The Homag Group, a woodworking specialist, owns 51% of Benz, and 49% is owned by the Zimmer Group, which also manufactures for the plastics industry and the furniture industry. Since 2000 they have also had a subsidiary sales office in Charlotte (USA) and since 2012 a service location in China. The company employs about 250 people, of which 30 are trainees and 25 are research and development specialists. The revenue in 2012 was about 35 million Euros.
keytech Software GmbH was founded in 1993 and specializes in the optimization of business process within the product lifecycle. With more than 1,000 successful implementations worldwide and more than 30 years experience in software development, keytech is a leader in the German-speaking PLM market. keytech works with their customers as they integrate their PLM ideas in their company and take into account existing processes during implementation. As one of only few independent PLM vendors keytech offers a large number of interfaces with well-known CAD programs such as SolidWorks, CATIA, Inventor, Solid Edge, AutoCAD, EPLAN and others. keytech’s years of experience with many ERP connections is the basis for successfully linking systems. In the past keytech has implemented several interfaces to well-known ERP systems such as SAP, PSI, Microsoft Dynamics, NAV, SIVAS, ABAS and ISSOS. At the beginning of 2010 keytech expanded their portfolio to become a full-value DMS system that enables real-time, interdepartmental access to revision-safe data. With this expansion keytech unified the two worlds of PLM and DMS into one system.
Benz GmbH Werkzeugsysteme Im Mühlegrün 12 77716 Haslach i.K. Germany Tel.: +49 7832 704 0 Fax: +49 7832 704 8001 Email: info@benz-tools.de Internet: www.benz-tools.de
keytech Süd GmbH Bahnhofstr. 39 72172 Sulz a.N. Germany Tel.: +49 7454 96038 0 Fax: +49 7454 96038 29 Email: mail@keytech.de www.keytech.de/en