SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sep 20, 2004 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Autodesk Inc. (Nasdaq: ADSK), the world's leading design software and digital content company, continues to experience momentum in adoption and use of AutoCAD(R) Electrical by U.S. manufacturers to create, manage and share electrical design information. The software gives companies in the manufacturing industry the ability to create electrical controls designs faster and more accurately by automating many of the manual processes. AutoCAD Electrical customers such as Tegron and Osgood Industries Inc., have significantly improved the speed with which accurate designs are produced, for quality and efficiency that translate into competitive advantage.

Serving vertical markets ranging from food and beverage to steel production, Tegron is a leading control systems integrator that assists manufacturers with plant automation, plant information and plant services. The company sought to improve its competitive advantage in terms of quality and speed in resolving customers' challenges. Using AutoCAD Electrical to automate their controls design process, Tegron has established a foundation for consistent quality and adherence to global design standards, as well as much faster response to customer change requests -- with far less labor involved. As a result, Tegron has achieved a permanent 80 to 90 percent reduction in design errors, and has trimmed typical drawing time from more than a day to just a few hours.

"Companies such as Tegron and Osgood recognize the value in automating the repetitive, detail-oriented aspects of controls design, so their engineers can focus on solving customer problems," said Robert Kross, vice president of the Manufacturing Solutions Division at Autodesk. "AutoCAD Electrical features and functions were developed to address many of the labor-intensive design tasks that electrical controls engineers often complete using AutoCAD."

Leaders in U.S. Manufacturing Depend on AutoCAD Electrical

Controls design is typically a labor-intensive process with many tedious and error prone design and documentation requirements. Tegron, a plant automation services provider, and Osgood, specializing in food packaging equipment, both depend on AutoCAD Electrical to automate complex and time-consuming manual tasks, from automatically generating PLC I/O drawings to updating schematics, creating panel layouts, automatically numbering components and tracking relay assignments. The potential for simple but costly errors in detail is minimized -- and that reduction yields benefits from greater productivity to reduced expense.

"The impact of AutoCAD Electrical on Tegron's performance is dramatic," said Steve Voelzke, CEO of Tegron. "The software paid for itself in just six months and has given Tegron a time-to-market advantage we estimate is roughly 20 percent faster than our competitors."

For more than 30 years, Osgood has been making machines that fill, package, lid, and seal products in the food, dairy, drug, and cosmetic industries -- where regulatory compliance and consumer safety are high priorities, and quality assurance can be a competitive differentiator. In an ongoing commitment to quality, Osgood chose to standardize their controls design process on AutoCAD Electrical, creating templates to ensure re-use of proven design elements; and automating cross-referencing of circuitry elements to reduce error. As a result, Osgood cut design costs by 25 percent, and reduced schematic and panel layout errors by 90 percent.

"Because the software automates a number of key processes and produces more detailed schematics, it's allowing us to do more for customers in less time," says Tim Hortaridis, a controls engineer with Osgood. "The time saved translates directly into lower expenses, and Osgood invests the time and money saved back into research and development, which helps us keep ahead of the market."

Collaboration across Teams

Historically, electrical engineers have relied on AutoCAD(R) and spreadsheet tools to devise control systems in parallel with product designers' work. As a result, teams must engage in a series of trial-and-error exchanges to arrive at controls that integrate properly with the product design. Based on the AutoCAD(R) platform, that electrical and product engineers share in common, AutoCAD Electrical can be integrated with business and engineering systems such as Autodesk Inventor Professional to facilitate rapid development of compatible electrical control and product designs. In conjunction with Autodesk Inventor Professional, AutoCAD Electrical can further streamline the development of accurate designs and pre-empt problems that otherwise might not show up until prototyping or production.

A Comprehensive Portfolio of Manufacturing Solutions

Delivering on its strategy to help customers create, manage, and share their digital design data and solve critical business challenges, Autodesk offers the most comprehensive portfolio of integrated 2D and 3D design and data management solutions available -- helping customers design better quality products, accelerate time to market, and achieve maximum project visibility and collaboration. Unlike other offerings on the market today, these solutions are easy to deploy and use, and help companies easily transition from 2D to 3D design at their own pace. Autodesk's manufacturing solutions include Autodesk Inventor Series, the world's #1 selling 3D mechanical design software, Autodesk Inventor(R) Professional, AutoCAD(R) Mechanical and AutoCAD(R) Electrical software -- all with Autodesk(R) Vault data management capabilities built in; and the Autodesk Streamline(R) collaboration service. In addition, customers can take advantage of widely available third-party applications purpose-built for Autodesk software.

Autodesk Consulting, including integrated consulting and training, helps customers worldwide maximize the value of their investment in Autodesk technology. For more information about Autodesk Consulting, see www.autodesk.com/consulting.

Autodesk Subscription is the easiest way to keep design tools and learning up to date. For an annual fee, customers benefit from the latest versions of their licensed Autodesk software, web support direct from Autodesk, self-paced training options, and a broad range of other technology and business benefits. For more information, contact your Autodesk Authorized Reseller or visit www.autodesk.com/subscription.

About Autodesk

Autodesk is the world's leading design software and digital content company, offering customers progressive business solutions through powerful technology products and services. Autodesk helps customers in the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields increase the value of their digital design data and improve efficiencies across their entire project lifecycle management processes. For more information about the company, see www.autodesk.com.

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      Contact:  Tania Kempf
                415-547-2469
      EMAIL:    Tania.Kempf@autodesk.com

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.

Tania Kempf of Autodesk, Inc., +1-415-547-2469, or
Tania.Kempf@autodesk.com

http://www.autodesk.com