Preactor sees APS interest and investment surge in 2010

FRANCE: The Preactor Group, a leading provider of Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) solutions for over 18 years, announces an exceptional set of trading figures for 2010 including the addition of over 300 new international customers.

In a year marked by hesitant growth in the manufacturing software sector, Preactor has seen net software sales rise by more than 50 percent over 2009, itself a record year. Total Revenue has increased by more than 30 percent over 2009.

Perhaps uniquely in this sector, Preactor’s growth has been consistent quarter on quarter, year on year, averaging 20 percent per year since 1994. This not only shows the growing interest in planning and scheduling as a discipline, but also in Preactor’s own extensive gamut of solutions as well as demonstrating the strength of the company itself.

Mike Novels, Group CEO, said: “Once again our figures unequivocally demonstrate the market’s growing acceptance of the value of APS as a tool for companies to become leaner and more profitable. Our new next generation version 11 has received very positive reviews from partners and users alike and we are looking forward to helping even more companies to become more competitive in an increasingly global economy.”

European success
Europe has again been Preactor’s most active market with the company reporting overall growth of 66 percent in the Eurozone territory which takes the total number of European accounts including the UK to over 2800. France and the Netherlands have been particularly successful with Germany, Spain, Italy, Poland, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic also showing strong growth. New customers include industry leaders such as Mercedes-Benz High Performance Engines Ltd (Automotive), Martell (Cognac – Food and Beverage), and Pepsico International (Quaker Oats - Food and Beverage).

Other major accounts by sector include Instituto Grifols, Qualiphar (Pharmaceuticals); Delifrance, Farm Frites, Aunt Bessie’s (Food and Beverage); SNPE (Defence/Automotive/Aerospace); Aerolia (Aerospace); Eurotab (Tablets and Machinery); Felix (Architectural Construction); Fortal (Metalwork for Construction); SNR Roulements (Bearings); Quovadis (Stationery); Posson Packaging (Packaging), Eurafarad (Electronics); ASML (Chip Making Equipment); Tuboplast CTL (Plastic Injection Mouldings); Edilon Sedra (Transport/Railways).

North and South American growth
Sales in North America increased by 53 percent over 2009 with 2010 also seeing the opening of the company’s US subsidiary in Dallas, Texas. This will provide further assistance to the growth of the North American market providing local support to the partner network there. South America has grown by 64 percent and now has more than 200+ customers active in Brazil and Argentina alone.

Recent customer wins by sector include Gerdau and ArcelorMittal (Metals); Aché and Laboratorios Raffo (Pharmaceuticals); Unicasa (Furniture); and Brasfrigo (Food and Beverage).

Middle East, Asian and South African developments
The Middle East and Asia has also seen good market penetration with the recent addition of recognised industry leaders such as TE Connectivity formerly Tyco Electronics (Mould and Die Making), Sterlite Technologies (Power & Telecoms) and Sanitarium (Food and Beverage). South Africa has long been a strong market for Preactor and in terms of market penetration compared to manufacturing GDP is second only to the UK. Other parts of Africa are expected to become more active in the future.

While the new customer profile has not significantly changed, there has been a noticeable shift in emphasis. Small to medium companies are still finding Preactor to be the solution that meets their specific requirements but an increasing number of larger multinational/multi-site companies are turning to Preactor to provide an enterprise-wide solution. Typically, such companies implement Preactor at a pilot site then deploy it across the group once the benefits have been proven. Examples of this approach include Eurocopter (Aerospace), Technip (Oil Sector Equipment), Areva (Power generation), and Cofel (Furniture). In terms of sectors, approximately 50 percent of 2010 new customers are in the Electrical, Machinery, Metals, Chemical, Pharmaceutical, Food and Beverage, Tobacco and Petroleum industries.

Aerospace, defence and automotive have also been very active representing 10 percent of new customers. Other markets such as plastics, rubber, wood, textile, etc are also growing year on year.

“In summary I can say that I am very enthusiastic about the growth of the APS market and our position within it,” concludes Novels. “While elements of economic uncertainty remain across many markets Q1 figures suggest that the growth is continuing with a 15 percent further increase in net revenues. The challenge now is to maintain this in the remainder of 2011 and beyond. With the strength of our product and global partner network, I believe Preactor is best placed to succeed.”