INDUSTRY

CONCORD, MA -- Battery and lighting giant Rayovac Corp. (NYSE: ROV) has purchased the 200,000th seat of SolidWorks(R) software shipped since 1995, a milestone that expands SolidWorks' seven-year dominance of the mainstream three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) market. During that time, SolidWorks has helped 25,000 companies around the world enhance designs, speed products to market, and avoid costly production errors. It has also helped hundreds of thousands of students at more than 4,000 educational institutions worldwide quickly ramp up on 3D CAD technology to hone the skills they'll need in their professional careers. SolidWorks software gives designers and engineers all of the tools they need to quickly design their products right the first time, so they can bring products to market faster than with other CAD technology. The company now has more than 200,000 users in over 100 countries representing the largest customer base of any midrange 3D CAD software vendor. Its intuitive user interface and short learning curve helps students quickly adopt the principles of 3D CAD so they can confidently pursue design and engineering careers. "The 3D CAD market has grown tremendously in the past couple of years thanks to accessible technology that is easy to use," said Bruce Jenkins, executive vice president at industry analyst firm Daratech. "It's this accessibility combined with the tools that help engineers do their jobs better that has fueled SolidWorks' growth. Its customer base has grown faster than any other vendor in the mid-range mechanical design market." Fully charged 3D solid modeling Rayovac is one of many global enterprises that has standardized on SolidWorks software. One of the world's largest battery and lighting manufacturers, Rayovac uses SolidWorks to design everything from batteries and lighting products (such as flashlights) to packaging for its consumer products and the equipment that manufactures those products. "We need to make sure that we design products right the first time to maintain a leadership position on a global scale," said Mike Thompson, process facilitator at Rayovac. "SolidWorks helped us make the conversion from 2D to 3D, and it provides us with the tools and views to prevent design flaws that could halt production and delay new product releases." Rayovac is using SolidWorks COSMOS/Works to analyze the structural integrity of its designs and PDM/Works to easily manage all of the design data it generates. SolidWorks reseller Graphics Systems Corp. provides Rayovac with software training and support. "We chose SolidWorks because it's an industry standard and most of our vendors use it," said Thompson. "With SolidWorks, we can easily share design information with them and still have the flexibility to rapidly change designs to meet market demand." Other SolidWorks customers include Bosch, Borg Warner, Cambridge University, Corning, Halliburton Company, Hitachi, Kimberly-Clarke, Panasonic, Sandia Laboratories, and Teradyne. Engineers use SolidWorks to design everything from the packaging for Little Debbie snack cakes to the consoles used for NASA control centers. "Rayovac is a great example of the caliber of customers that have standardized on SolidWorks to meet all of their design challenges," said John McEleney, CEO of SolidWorks. "We've made it our business to listen to the designers who work with the software and build their feedback right into new innovations to help them do their jobs more efficiently. That's how we've become the standard in the mainstream 3D market, and how we're the first to achieve the 200,000-seat milestone. It's also how we'll continue to grow. Moreover, our momentum is building. It took five years to hit the 100,000-seat mark, and only 20 months to double it."