Ghent (Belgium) – A complete future-proof solution for packaging development from the market leader: that's why Thimm Verpackung, the largest division of the Northeim-based Thimm Group, chose ArtiosCAD Enterprise from Esko, as part of its enterprise-wide project to modernise its business systems across its 18 locations. The project, for which planning and needs analysis began five years ago, was implemented in 2015 in the record time of just six months. The total investment for the conversion and modification of Thimm’s locations in Germany, the Czech Republic, Romania and Poland amounted to over €500 000.

"Thimm Verpackung has grown very quickly in recent years,” says Hardy Hull, manager of the development centre at Thimm Verpackung. “Our vision was to synchronise and centrally control all processes in packaging development across all of our locations, leaving behind the era of time-consuming and cost-intensive siloed solutions that did not communicate with each other.” Following a detailed market analysis and comparison of offerings from different providers, Thimm Verpackung opted for ArtiosCAD Enterprise from Esko. It came out top for all criteria: a networked cross-divisional workflow, data security, process reliability, traceability, error avoidance, transparent structures, simplified communication, avoidance of multiple entries, the cross-platform use of data in different systems (including mobile devices) and efficient administration.

"Esko's market presence and 100% focus on complete software solutions for the packaging industry both speak in its favour,” Hull adds. “It's not just major branded goods manufacturers that use Esko; many suppliers also work with the company in order to offer interfaces to their own solutions.” It was essential that the chosen solution could be integrated with Thimm’s MS Dynamics AX ERP solution to standardise calculations and cost accounting throughout the company. Additional packages, such as Esko Cape for pallet optimisation and Studio Visualizer for 3D visualisation, also impressed Thimm Verpackung as practical tools that would enhance their business and production processes.

Centralising data handling across locations

ArtiosCAD Enterprise stores all resources in a central but private corporate database in the cloud. The WebCenter-based Enterprise Database Server includes a secure, web-accessible database as well as project management functions. It makes dynamic online collaboration possible among design groups, CAD and graphic designers, suppliers, brand owners and production. The ArtiosCAD Enterprise Client makes all CAD-specific metadata, such as geometry and materials, available to WebCenter projects so that all details of a packaging project are reliably recorded and managed from beginning to end.

"Thimm Verpackung chose the Esko networked packaging solution as the result of a rational and detailed technical analysis of the solutions available on the market,” says Armand Gougay, Vice President Europe and Middle East (EMEA) at Esko. “As for the potential savings, it's still too early to provide any concrete figures, but Thimm Verpackung will be able to free up a significant amount of time and resources across the creative process. That makes us proud.” The protected cloud-based database system and its controlled access ensures the ultimate in data control and security for Thimm Verpackung across all locations and for all employees.  "That's an essential consideration for an efficient, automated workflow," says Gougay.

Hull was very pleased with Esko's handling of the project: "Above all, I'd like to thank the Esko team and, of course, our team here at Thimm Verpackung. Without their hard work, the implementation would never have gone as quickly, smoothly and efficiently.” In a future stage, in addition to internal availability, Thimm intends to make the online WebCenter platform available externally to its customers to improve efficiencies even more.