LMS International has announced that Flanders' DRIVE has received a go-ahead from the Flemish Government. Flanders' DRIVE is a cluster of industrial companies with the strategic goal of strengthening the product development capacity of automotive suppliers based in Flanders (Belgium) - and to defend and reinforce the competitive position of Flanders in the European and world market. Intended to become an engineering center for the vehicle industry, Flanders' DRIVE will act as an extension of the individual R&D resources of the vehicle and supplier industry. The project was set up as the result of an LMS initiative and is partially financed by a $15M grant from the European Commission and Flemish government.
Dr. Urbain Vandeurzen, LMS Chairman, President, and CEO commented, "In the last few years most vehicle manufacturers have dramatically revised the way they work with their suppliers. The number of first tier suppliers has been radically reduced, and those that remain are more closely involved in the product development process. The problems are compounded for the smaller second tier suppliers. This paradigm shift in the product development process requires that the supplier industry needs to evolve to meet new challenges that may, initially, lie outside their core competencies. In order to survive they need to rapidly acquire additional development expertise and invest in new facilities, technologies and people."
Dirk De Vis, Director of LMS Engineering Services and Chairman of Flanders' DRIVE, said "Flanders' DRIVE will help the Flemish vehicle and supplier industry to co-ordinate their response to these challenges. The first step will be the foundation of a new engineering and test center with a proven "know-how" in every aspect of vehicle development - from CAD design through CAE analysis, hardware prototyping and testing. For LMS, the center will be a strategic expansion of the LMS Engineering facilities, to provide an even broader range of development services to the worldwide vehicle industry"
However, Flanders' DRIVE is more than an industrial consultant. As a neutral organization, Flanders' DRIVE stimulates proactive networking between the individual member companies and research centers - organizations with complementary knowledge and experience at different stages of the product development process. In addition, the cluster is also a forum and catalyst for innovation: it will help to develop initiatives for joint scientific and technical research into regional or European-wide programs.
The founding members of Flanders' DRIVE are: Bekaert, Bosal, Bosch, LMS International, and Tenneco Automotive. The membership is open to any Flemish industrial company involved in product development in the automotive industry.
About LMS International
LMS is an engineering innovation partner for companies in the automotive, aerospace and other advanced manufacturing industries. LMS enables its customers to get better products faster to market, and to turn superior process efficiency to their strategic competitive advantage. LMS delivers a unique combination of virtual simulation software, testing systems, and engineering services. We are focused on the mission critical performance attributes in key manufacturing industries, including structural integrity, handling, safety, reliability, comfort and sound quality. Through our technology, people and over 25 years of experience, LMS has become the partner of choice for most of the leading discrete manufacturing companies worldwide. LMS, a Dassault Systèmes Gold Partner, is certified to ISO9001:2000 quality standards and operates through a network of subsidiaries and representatives in key locations around the world.
Dr. Urbain Vandeurzen, LMS Chairman, President, and CEO commented, "In the last few years most vehicle manufacturers have dramatically revised the way they work with their suppliers. The number of first tier suppliers has been radically reduced, and those that remain are more closely involved in the product development process. The problems are compounded for the smaller second tier suppliers. This paradigm shift in the product development process requires that the supplier industry needs to evolve to meet new challenges that may, initially, lie outside their core competencies. In order to survive they need to rapidly acquire additional development expertise and invest in new facilities, technologies and people."
Dirk De Vis, Director of LMS Engineering Services and Chairman of Flanders' DRIVE, said "Flanders' DRIVE will help the Flemish vehicle and supplier industry to co-ordinate their response to these challenges. The first step will be the foundation of a new engineering and test center with a proven "know-how" in every aspect of vehicle development - from CAD design through CAE analysis, hardware prototyping and testing. For LMS, the center will be a strategic expansion of the LMS Engineering facilities, to provide an even broader range of development services to the worldwide vehicle industry"
However, Flanders' DRIVE is more than an industrial consultant. As a neutral organization, Flanders' DRIVE stimulates proactive networking between the individual member companies and research centers - organizations with complementary knowledge and experience at different stages of the product development process. In addition, the cluster is also a forum and catalyst for innovation: it will help to develop initiatives for joint scientific and technical research into regional or European-wide programs.
The founding members of Flanders' DRIVE are: Bekaert, Bosal, Bosch, LMS International, and Tenneco Automotive. The membership is open to any Flemish industrial company involved in product development in the automotive industry.
About LMS International
LMS is an engineering innovation partner for companies in the automotive, aerospace and other advanced manufacturing industries. LMS enables its customers to get better products faster to market, and to turn superior process efficiency to their strategic competitive advantage. LMS delivers a unique combination of virtual simulation software, testing systems, and engineering services. We are focused on the mission critical performance attributes in key manufacturing industries, including structural integrity, handling, safety, reliability, comfort and sound quality. Through our technology, people and over 25 years of experience, LMS has become the partner of choice for most of the leading discrete manufacturing companies worldwide. LMS, a Dassault Systèmes Gold Partner, is certified to ISO9001:2000 quality standards and operates through a network of subsidiaries and representatives in key locations around the world.
