PTC today announced that Hitachi, Ltd. Rail Systems has selected the PTC Global Product Development Solution based on proven PTC Windchill® technology as its single enterprise platform for global product development throughout its railway vehicle engineering and manufacturing business. Hitachi’s strategic alignment around the PTC solution will help the company drive product development innovation and success in an intensifying global competitive landscape.
Hitachi Rail Adopts PTC PLM to Transform Global Product Development
1. Hitachi Rail Adopts PTC PLM to Transform Global Product Development
PTC solution automates development processes, accelerates product innovation, reduces
delivery time by 20%
NEEDHAM, MA – December 10, 2013– PTC® (Nasdaq: PTC) today announced that Hitachi, Ltd. Rail
Systemshas selected the PTC Global Product Development Solution based on proven PTC
Windchill®technology as its single enterprise platform for global product development throughout its
railway vehicle engineering and manufacturing business.Hitachi, the only railway systems integrator in
Japan, designs, manufactures, and services railway vehicles, traffic control and signal systems, and railway
facilities/equipment for railway companies. Hitachi’sstrategic alignment around the PTC solutionwill help
the companydrive product development innovation and success in an intensifying global competitive
landscape.
After being awarded a contract to deliver 600 railway cars and well over two decades of maintenance
support for the Intercity Express Program in the U. K., Hitachi decided to build a production facility in the
U.K. to produce the vehicles locally. Hitachi recognized that it needed a world-class PLM solution that
would provide a unified, consistent view of all product data to meet its innovation and quality goals for the
new center. Additionally, the limited availability of external resources with traditional Japanese
craftsmanship skills to support development of its custom-ordered railway vehicles elevated Hitachi’s need
to automate its product development processes and enhance its production environment.
Further, because itsengineering team works in a multi-CAD environment using both 2D and 3D CAD tools,
Hitachi needed a systemwith the flexibility and broad capabilities to manage heterogeneous CAD data. The
companyalso required thecapability to manage the engineering bill of materials (eBOM) and the
manufacturing bill of materials (mBOM).
The implementation of the PTC solution has increased Hitachi’s visibility into daily workload on the shop
floor by improving the accuracy of Bill of Material (BOM) information. As such, part inventory levels and
component and materials procurement processes have been optimized. The Hitachi manufacturing team is
now able to create more accurate plans, and has reduced its production lead-time, from component order
through car assembly completion, by 20%.“PTC Windchill helps companies better manage their bills of
materials and product configuration as well as heterogeneous CAD data. In addition, the product provides
intelligent workflow that automates mundane tasks within and across development sites, ensuring the
highest levels of quality and consistency, and driving continuous product and process innovation,” stated
Peter Bilello, president, CIMdata.
Hitachi has expanded its use of the PTC solution to manage multiple configurations of its railway cars,
enabling the company to flexibly support customer requirements.The company expects that the workload
of its design engineers also will be substantially reduced as adoption of the PTC solution further accelerates.
In addition, Hitachi plans to improve the accuracy of its manufacturing process and cost management by
placing the scalable PTC solution at the center ofthe UK Intercity Express Program.
“We needed a system that would help us enhance our production environment and, at the same time,
enable us to automate production processes and be less reliant on human resources,” said Takashi
Kadohiro, Manager, Business Reforms Promotion Department, Kasado Works, Hitachi Rail Systems. “As the
2. core of our product development platform, the PTC Global Product Development Solution has allowed us to
manage all of our CAD data in a single repository, improving our workflow and process automation.”
“Process improvement is pivotal to supporting product development and services, and ultimately to helping
drive business success,” said Mark Hodges, Divisional General Manager,PLM Segment, PTC. “We are
pleased to expand our relationship withHitachi to support innovation, drive efficiencies throughout its
product development processes and ultimately increase its competitive advantage."
Additional Resources:
PTC’s Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) Resource Center
PTC’s Global Product Development Resource Page
Follow us on Twitter- Watch us on YouTube - Connect with us on LinkedIn - Join our PTC Community - Visit
us on Facebook– View other Social Media Platforms
About Hitachi, Ltd.
Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a leading global electronics company with
approximately 326,000 employees worldwide. The company's consolidated revenues for fiscal 2012 (ended
March 31, 2013) totaled 9,041 billion yen ($96.1 billion). Hitachi is focusing more than ever on the Social
Innovation Business, which includes infrastructure systems, information & telecommunication systems,
power systems, construction machinery, high functional material & components, automotive systems and
others.For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company's website at http://www.hitachi.com.
About PTC
PTC (Nasdaq: PTC) enables manufacturers to achieve sustained product and service advantage. The
company's technology solutions transform the way products are created and serviced across the entire
product lifecycle - from conception and design to sourcing and service. Founded in 1985, PTC employs over
6,000 professionals serving more than 27,000 businesses in rapidly-evolving, globally distributed
manufacturing industries worldwide. Get more information at www.ptc.com.
Contacts:
PTC Corporate Communications
Beth Ambaruch
952.435.5058
bambaruch@ptc.com
WeberShandwick
Anand Savani
617.520.7290
asavani@webershandwick.com
The announcement of a customer’s selection, implementation, deployment or adoption of PTC software is
not necessarily indicative of the timing or amount of revenue therefrom or of PTC’s overall revenue for any
particular period.
PTC,the PTC logo, Product & Service Advantageand Windchill are trademarks or registered trademarks of
PTC Inc. or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.