New partnership

GBR Challenge enter partnership with leading design software technology player

GBR Challenge today announced that it has signed a unique Design Software Technology Partnership with UGS PLM Solutions, the world’s leading Product Lifecycle Management Company.

This is the first time in America’s Cup history that a strategic partnership of this nature has been involved in the core design and development of America’s Cup boats. UGS PLM will also be the exclusive provider of product lifecycle management products and services to provide planning and race configuration data for the British-based team.

GBR Challenge will become one of UGS PLM’s technology showcase partners joining companies such as Formula 1's Jaguar Racing and British American Racing (BAR). The partnership will also allow UGS PLM to showcase their technology in the context of America’s Cup yacht design and performance as well as explore and develop new technological opportunities.

“This is a huge step forward for us and very exciting. We have already had a number of very successful sessions both with the engineers at UGS PLM as well as our colleagues at Jaguar and BAR,” said Derek Clark, head of design at GBR Challenge. “A number of products in the market place were trialled by our design team, UGS PLM was by far the best fit to our future needs, working style and ease of integration.”

UGS PLM Solutions' NX and Teamcenter® products will provide GBR Challenge with a unified approach to the planning, development and operational support of the boat’s lifecycle to achieve optimum competitive excellence. Importantly it will also provide the team with an environment for intensive collaboration, bringing together the skills, expertise, knowledge and experience of the team to be applied to the boat development process throughout every major stage.

“Our partnership with GBR Challenge reflects our wish to be working with product development teams at the very edge of innovation,” said Jim Duncan, executive vice president, UGS PLM Solutions EMEA. “The team will use all the very latest technologies from our portfolio and the very latest best practices from our people for rapid development and deployment of this exciting boat. Our selection by GBR Challenge underlines the strength of our global position in yacht design and shipbuilding; I wish them every success and look forward to UGS PLM Solutions being a key part of a winning team.”

UGS PLM Solutions is a leader in product data management, collaboration and product design software and services with 42,000 clients and more than 2.8 million seats of technology operating in the market, is the product lifecycle management (PLM) subsidiary of EDS.

The company works collaboratively with its clients to create solutions enabling them to transform their process of innovation and thus begin to capture the promise of PLM. The integration of the former operations of companies including Structural Dynamics Research Corporation (SDRC), Engineering Animation Inc. (EAI) and UGS, UGS PLM Solutions has created some of the leading design, collaboration and product data management technologies that ultimately formed the foundation of the PLM industry. Today, the company is a family of one, building on three decades of leadership in continuing to be a pioneer in PLM. For more information on UGS PLM Solutions products and services, click here .