Baan Company N.V., a global provider of enterprise business solutions, and TWR Group, a specialist vehicle design and manufacturing company for the international market, have announced an international co-operation agreement under which the companies will develop one of the world`s most advanced integrated vehicle manufacturing solutions. The two companies, already well-known in their own markets for advanced technology and visionary design, will develop and offer a turnkey manufacturing solution for the short run, high visibility, specialty vehicle production market, further reducing lead times for design-to-manufacture by up to 30 per cent.
As part of the agreement, TWR Group will implement Baan ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) software - an integrated suite of business software for manufacturing, finance, project management and distribution - throughout its worldwide organisations including its AutoNova manufacturing facility in Sweden, a joint venture between TWR and Volvo Car Corporation. For more information on this agreement, please view the joint Baan/TWR website at www.baan-twr.com
Tom Walkinshaw, Managing Director, TWR Group commented: "TWR`s key differentiator is advanced design and speed - speed on the racetrack and speed in the production of speciality vehicles. We believe this cooperation agreement will enable us to develop a speciality car from the initial design stages through to production in a timeframe that gives the manufacturer a significant cost saving and a vital marketplace advantage. By signing this co-operation agreement with Baan, we are teaming up with a recognised enterprise solutions-leader that will enable us to integrate advanced business process management capabilities into our manufacturing offerings and further reduce the time-to-market of the individual product. "
Steve Green, Technical Director, SoftworX (formerly Baan South Africa) comments: "We are very excited about this announcement and are pleased to be associated with TWR who is an award-winning player in the automotive industry, renowned for its technical expertise and development, it offers the industry`s most comprehensive Virtual Reality Centre to support the design and testing processes of vehicle manufacturing.
The agreement builds on the Baan successes in the automotive sector with major customer including DaimlerChrysler with the Smart car, Volvo, Volkswagen and Fiat internationally with local sites including SAMCOR and Botswana Motor Corporation - this agreement builds on this considerable momentum and indicates the seriousness with which we approach the automotive industry."
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TWR
In just 21 years, TWR has established itself at the forefront of the automotive world. Applying its design, engineering and manufacturing expertise to both the road and the track, the company has won international accolades with cars such as the Aston Martin DB7, the new Volvo C70 coupe and convertible. In motorsport, TWR has represented many of the world`s leading motor manufacturers and is established as one of the most successful racing organizations of all time, winning World Championships Sportscars, plus prestigious races such as Le Mans 24 hours, the Indianapolis 500 and the Monaco Grand Prix.
Today, TWR`s activities range from road car projects for numerous major automotive manufacturers, through to motor racing teams competing in Formula One with the Arrows team, prestigious Touring Car Championships in Britain with Volvo and Australia with the Holden Racing Team, and for General Motors and sportscar Endurance Racing.
Baan Company
Founded in 1978, Baan Company (NASDAQ: BAANF; ASE: BAAN) is a global provider of enterprise business solutions. Baan Company offers a comprehensive portfolio of integrated services and best-in-class, component-based applications that span an organization`s entire value chain including E-Business and Web Commerce, Customer Relationship Management, Enterprise Resource Planning, Supply Chain Management, and Corporate Knowledge Management. Deployed at more than 12,000 customer sites worldwide, Baan Company solutions enable organizations to drive strategic business growth, improve business processes, reduce operating complexity, and increase corporate flexibility.
Baan Company has dual headquarters in Barneveld, The Netherlands and Herndon, Virginia, USA and can be found on the World Wide Web at www.baan.com.