Largest Pickle Manufacturer in the Southeast U. S. Selects Latest Release of

Autodesk Inventor to Document Processing Equipment and Facilities

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., May. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK) today announced that the Mt. Olive Pickle Company, the second-best selling brand of pickles in the country, is using Autodesk Inventor 11 software, the world's best-selling 3D mechanical design solution and best choice for AutoCAD software users, to design and document the machinery that comprises its sophisticated pickle processing plant. The company worked with Avatech Solutions, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: AVSO.OB), a leading Autodesk channel partner, to choose Autodesk Inventor 11.

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Mt. Olive's facilities are located on 110 acres of land, with approximately 970,000 square feet of production, office and warehouse space. The company has over 1,200 fiberglass and plastic brine vats, with storage capacity in excess of 40 million pounds of cucumbers.

"Autodesk Inventor plays a key role in our entire pickling process," explained Jimmy Carr, Plant Engineer at Mt. Olive. "We use Autodesk Inventor to design and document the entire process. The pickle packaging process requires customized conveyors, washing, cutting, pasteurization and filling equipment. We use Autodesk Inventor to route piping runs, both high purity process lines and utility piping, such as air, water and steam. We are also documenting our facilities. Having our machinery, mechanicals and buildings documented in Inventor allow us to troubleshoot production problems efficiently, resulting in a reduction of costly downtime. The level of detail provided in Autodesk Inventor 11 is really helpful for providing either management or vendors with exact measurements and details of the production machinery if there's ever a problem."

To further take advantage of the investment they have made in their design data, Mt. Olive leverages Autodesk Vault functionality. Integrated with Autodesk Inventor software, Autodesk Vault is an easy-to-use data management tool that makes work-in-process data more accessible and reusable while avoiding the versioning problems inherent in sharing files among workgroups.

"Autodesk Vault has really helped us with our file management," said Carr. "It ensures that all of our designs are correctly versioned and organized. This makes it much easier to track older design iterations and to re-use designs of older machines -- the 'copy design' function in Vault is of tremendous value in this endeavor."

Robert "Buzz" Kross, vice president of Autodesk's Manufacturing Solutions Division, noted: "Companies across a wide range of industries are unlocking the value that Autodesk Inventor can provide to their business. By taking advantage of the innovations that the latest release provides, Mt. Olive is leading the way with their extensive use of Autodesk solutions."

About Autodesk Inventor

Autodesk Inventor software is the best choice for AutoCAD users moving to 3D. As the leading 3D mechanical design software, Autodesk Inventor delivers the manufacturing community a comprehensive, integrated set of tools for 3D design and documentation. For more information, visit: www.autodesk.com/bestchoice.

About Mt. Olive Pickle Company

The Mt. Olive Pickle Company, Inc., located at the Corner of Cucumber & Vine in Mount Olive, North Carolina, was originally founded to brine cucumbers to be sold to other pickling firms. When that plan didn't work, 21 local business people came together to establish the company for the purpose of packing and selling its own pickle products. From a modest beginning in 1926, with only a 3,600 square-foot building and $15,875 in capital, the Mt. Olive Pickle Company has grown to become the largest independent pickle company in the United States. The company packs over 90 million jars of processed and fresh pack pickles, relishes and peppers annually.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With seven million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media and wireless data services fields. Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency and maximizing profits.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com.

NOTE: Autodesk, AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders.

Contact: Jeannie Hornung, 415-846-9357

Email: hornungj@fleishman.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.
Web site: http://www.autodesk.com
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