Partner AscendBridge Solutions Inc. Helps Concours Mold Expand CATIA Implementation to Provide Single Manufacturing Framework

Paris – November 17, 2008 – Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced that Concours Mold, a leading global manufacturer of industrial molds for the automotive industry, has implemented Dassault Systèmes’ CATIA virtual design solution for the design, tooling and manufacturing of the large, complex molds used in the production of automobile bumpers and plastic trim. The end-to-end implementation was managed by Dassault Systèmes partner, AscendBridge Solutions Inc.

As much of the industry’s production of automotive-specific tooling moved offshore, Concours Mold strove to position itself as a highly competitive and growing company, able to address the needs of the specialized and dispersed automotive ecosystem. Having already implemented CATIA for design, Concours Mold chose to adopt the solution as its enterprise-wide standard. Using CATIA on this more widespread basis allows it to better manage the shortened production time-frames that major manufacturers are demanding today. With CATIA, Concours Mold has dramatically shortened tooling production cycles from prior levels, and is now able to meet the challenges and opportunities inherent in producing parts for the world’s largest auto companies.

“With CATIA’s Mold Tooling Creation product, we have been able to develop best-practices, including all the behaviors and mechanisms to design and build our complex tooling, right out of the box,” said Lou Nicoletti, engineering manager, Concours Mold. “Because our customers are driving very tight timeframes for the production of their vehicles, we are also forced to move at a rapid pace. Our investment in CATIA, as our enterprise standard provides the tools and structure to meet constantly changing marketplace demands.”

Recognizing an opportunity to standardize multiple workgroups on one platform, Concours worked with AscendBridge to deploy its functionality and quickly modify its out-of-the-box toolkits to Concours’ unique standards. The company has already realized efficiencies across design and production functions and has plans to scale up future adoption of the solution as it experiences further growth.

“Concours Mold is an industry leader and understood the synergy that CATIA can provide at the enterprise level on a single solution, enabling it to meet its goal of efficient production in a collaborative environment,” said Stephen Owen, director of sales, AscendBridge Solutions. “CATIA provides a unified platform for coordinating the multiple disciplines of modern, competitive manufacturing and a knowledge-based engineering framework that promotes a continual improvement on the company’s core objectives.”

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About Concours Mold
Since 1994, Concours Mold has been providing complex injection molds with compressed delivery. Renowned in the mold manufacturing industry, the company has been pushing the envelope of technology to produce top notch products. For more information, visit http://www.concoursmold.com.

About AscendBridge Solutions Inc.
AscendBridge Solutions Inc is a Canadian based engineering consulting, technology services, and Product Lifecycle Management solutions provider to the North American market. Committed to delivering process-centric design software, product data management, digital manufacturing solutions and proprietary programs, AscendBridge works with their clients to increase their competitiveness, productivity and bottom line. With deep industry knowledge, Dassault Systemes certified resources and a proven track record, AscendBridge provides the right people, skills and technologies to clients to improve their performance. AscendBridge’s offering includes integrated PLM solutions for product development (CATIA®, DELMIA®, ENOVIA®, SMARTEAM®). For more information please visit http://www.ascendbridge.com.

About Dassault Systèmes
As a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, Dassault Systèmes brings value to more than 100,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3D software market since 1981, Dassault Systèmes develops and markets PLM application software and services that support industrial processes and provide a 3D vision of the entire lifecycle of products from conception to maintenance to recycling. The Dassault Systèmes portfolio consists of CATIA for designing the virtual product - SolidWorks for 3D mechanical design - DELMIA for virtual production - SIMULIA for virtual testing - ENOVIA for global collaborative lifecycle management, and 3DVIA for online 3D lifelike experiences. Dassault Systèmes’ shares are listed on Euronext Paris (#13065, DSY.PA) and Dassault Systèmes’ ADRs may be traded on the US Over-The-Counter (OTC) market (DASTY). For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com.

CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, SolidWorks and 3D VIA are registered trademarks of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries.


Press Contacts:
Derek Lane (DS Americas)          Email Contact         +1 (818) 673-2243
Stephanie Fournier (CATIA)         Email Contact        +33 (1) 61 62 8429
Karen Crespi (AscendBridge)         Email Contact        +1 (905) 944-0047