CAM

…but Autodesk’s AutoCAD, Inventor and Fusion Lead the Growth Index. There is no doubt that the fight for leadership positions in the CAD area today, more than ever, is the battle between the four major PLM and CAD developers. We are talking about Dassault Systemes’ CATIA/SOLIDWORKS, Siemens Digital Industries Software’s NX CAD/Solid Edge, PTC’s Creo/Onshape and Autodesk’s AutoCAD, Inventor and Fusion. But who has the lead in the race to the future?
The question is not entirely easy to answer and depends largely on who you ask, what the platform will be used for, and what perspective you take in everything from market share/license size and high-end or mainstream to development direction and technical platform. In today's article, we will take a closer look at what two analysts have come up with in their evaluations of Siemens NX and Solid Edge (SE):
• First, the analyst Frost & Sullivan, who recently published an evaluation, "Frost Radar: Mechanical Computer-aided Design, 2025"
• Second, the PLM specialist CIMdata, who in a commentary has focused on NX-X and a mixed SaaS and cloud angle, "Siemens NX-X: SaaS-Based MCAD (Commentary)."
Generally, NX CAD is particularly strong in the automotive, aerospace & defense, machine design and medical technology markets. In terms of development, the approach is strategically more evolutionary than revolutionary, i.e. they work with continuous development to secure their leading position, rather than revolutionaryly turning existing processes and expertise of their customers upside down.
In terms of purpose, NX is used for, among other things, all types of design (parametric and direct solid/surface modeling), technical analysis (static; dynamic; electromagnetic; thermal and fluid). Both the high-end solution NX and its mainstream counterpart, Solid Edge, are available as SaaS and cloud solutions, with the suffix “X”.
Well known strengths in Siemens environments include openness and integration with other parts of the market’s perhaps richest software portfolio, Xcelerator; combined with connections to the manufacturing side and smart factory automation.
Examples of software in the Xcelerator suite are Teamcenter (PLM), Simcenter platform (Simulation & Analysis), Polarion (ALM, “software management”), Siemens EDA (electronic design), Opcenter (OT, “shopfloor automation”), Mendix (low/no-code platform) and more.
So, how do the NX/SE solutions stack up? In a graphic illustration built as a circle with four pie slices and with a vertical axis that positions the solutions partly in a “growth index” and partly a horizontal axis for the “innovation index”, Siemens reaches the top position for the innovative part, while it ends up slightly lower on the “growth axis”, where Autodesk’s three software solutions top.
Frost Radar’s evaluation states, among other things, that Siemens NX/Solid Edge has achieved the top rating in the innovation index and performed well in the growth index. Some of the company’s unique features include, “the many add-ons that are available to extend the capabilities of NX; the flexibility of licensing and Siemens electronics design strength, enabling seamless MCAD-ECAD collaboration.”
While analyst CIMdata, regarding NX-X, emphasizes that, “through its DesignCenter, Siemens delivers complete, transparent compatibility across its MCAD solutions – the data models are identical across NX, NX-X and Solid Edge/SE X – no data migrations, updates or translations are required.” “Take a look at NX-X,” recommends CIMdata – why?
Click on the headline to read the full article on PLM&ERP News.

...men Autodesks lösningar AutoCAD, Inventor och Fusion-plattformen har högsta tillväxten. Att kampen om ledarpositionerna på CAD-området idag mer än någonsin står mellan de fyra stora PLM- och CAD-utvecklarna behöver ingen tvivla över. Vi talar alltså om Dassault Systemes CATIA/SOLIDWORKS, Siemens Digital Industries Softwares NX CAD/Solid Edge, PTCs Creo/Onshape och Autodesks AutoCAD, Inventor- och Fusion. Men vem har ledningen i racet in mot framtiden?
Svaret beror förstås i hög grad på vem man frågar, vad plattformen ska användas till, och vilket perspektiv man anlägger: allt ifrån marknadsandelar/licensstorlek och high-end eller mainstream till utvecklingsinriktning och teknisk plattform. I dagens artikel ska vi titta lite närmare på vad några välrenommerade analytiker kommit fram till i utvärderingar av Siemens NX och Solid Edge (SE):
• Dels analytikern Frost & Sullivan, som nyligen publicerat en utvärdering, ”Frost Radar: Mechanical Computer-aided Design, 2025”
• Dels PLM-specialisten CIMdata, som i en kommentar har fokuserat på NX X och en blandad SaaS- och molnvinkel, ”Siemens NX X: SaaS-Based MCAD (Commentary).”
Allmänt är NX CAD marknadsmässigt särskilt stark inom automotive, aerospace & defense, maskindesign och medicinteknik. Utvecklingsmässigt är anslaget strategiskt mer evolutionärt än revolutionärt, d v s man jobbar med kontinuerlig utveckling för att säkerställa sin ledande position, snarare än att revolutionärt vända upp och ner på existerande processer och kunnande hos sina kunder. Användningsmässigt utnyttjas NX för bl a alla typer av design (parametrisk och direkt solid/ytmodellering), teknisk analys (statisk; dynamisk; elektromagnetisk; termisk och fluid). Både high-end-lösningen NX och mainstream-motsvarigheten, Solid Edge, finns som SaaS- och molnlösningar, då med suffixet ”X”. Välbekanta styrkor i Siemens-miljöerna är sånt som öppenheten och integrationen med övriga delar i marknadens kanske rikaste program-portfölj, Xcelerator; kombinerat med kopplingarna till tillverkningssidan och smart fabriksautomation.
Så, hur står sig lösningarna? I en grafisk illustration byggd som en cirkel med fyra tårtbitar och med en lodrät axel som positionerar lösningarna dels i ett ”tillväxt-index” och dels en vågrät axel för ”innovations-index”, når Siemens topposition för den innovativa biten, medan man hamnar något lägre på ”tillväxt-axeln”, där Autodesks mjukvaror hamnar i topp. Detta emedan CIMdata när det gäller NX-X framhåller att, ”genom sitt DesignCenter levererar Siemens fullständig, transparent kompatibilitet över sina MCAD-lösningar – datamodellerna är identiska bland NX, NX-X och Solid Edge/SE X – inga datamigreringar, uppdateringar eller translationer behövs.”
”Ta en titt på NX-X,” rekommenderar CIMdata – varför?
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How Sandvik Became One of the World Leaders in CAM. High tech engineering group Sandvik continues to strengthen its position as one of the strongest players in the CAM market. The company announced last week that it is buying three US-based resellers of CAM solutions within the Mastercam sphere, Barefoot CNC, CAD/CAM Solutions, and CamTech Engineering Services. In addition, Sandvik has acquired the probing and postprocessor businesses from CIMCO Group, a Denmark-based developer of software solutions for computer-integrated manufacturing.
This was yesterday followed by the purchase of Verisurf Software, a US-based 3D metrology software solutions provider. Verisurf will complement and enhance Sandvik’s position in industrial metrology and strengthen the combined digital manufacturing offering to small and mid-sized manufacturers (SMEs). Their modular-based easy-to-use software solutions for quality inspection, assembly guidance, and reverse engineering, are built on the Mastercam Design (CAD) platform.
Market-wise Verisurf is strong in the automotive, aerospace and defense industry segments and generates revenues around $12 million a year. Notably, Mastercam is the world's largest standalone, non-PLM packaged CAM solution. Sandvik acquired the company as recently as 2021. In total, the company's CAD/CAM solutions cover around 270,000 installations worldwide in mold manufacturing, automotive, aerospace and consumer industries.
The purchase of Mastercam is generally in line with Sandvik's strategic focus on growing in the digital manufacturing area, with particular attention to industrial software close to component manufacturing.
Seen from this perspective, the now announced purchase is not a major deal. A total of 18 employees will transfer to Mastercam as a result of the three US Mastercam reseller acquisitions. These businesses had combined annual net sales of around $6 million in 2024. The effect on Sandvik's EBITA margin and earnings will, according to the press material, "be slightly positive." It is also noted that the acquisitions will be part of the Mastercam business unit and will be reported within the Sandvik Manufacturing and Machining Solutions business area.
"These acquisitions strengthen our regional presence and our ability to serve our customers, and they support our strategy to grow in digital manufacturing," said Sandvik's chief, Stefan Widing.
CIMCO's probing technology is a comprehensive probing solution for CNC machines, enabling direct touch probe programming within Mastercam. CIMCO's post-processing technology includes software tools that translate Mastercam output into machine-specific code, ensuring seamless execution on CNC machines.
So, how did Sandvik become a world leader in CAM? Mastercam meant a lot, but there's more...
Click on the headline to read more on PLM&ERP News.

Köpen som gjort Sandvik till en av världsledarna inom CAM. Verkstadskoncernen Sandvik fortsätter att stärka sin position som en av de starkaste aktörerna på CAM-marknaden. Företaget meddelade förra veckan att det köper tre USA-baserade återförsäljare av CAM-lösningar inom Mastercam-sfären, Barefoot CNC, CAD/CAM Solutions och CamTech Engineering Services. Dessutom förvärvade bolaget sonderings- och postprocessor-verksamheten från CIMCO Group, en Danmarks-baserad utvecklare av mjukvarulösningar för datorintegrerad tillverkning.
Detta följdes i går av köpet av Verisurf Software, en USA-baserad leverantör av mjukvarulösningar för 3D-mätteknik. Verisurf kommer att komplettera och stärka Sandviks position inom industriell metrologi och vässa det kombinerade digitala tillverkningserbjudandet till små och medelstora tillverkare (SMF) ordentligt. Verisurf utvecklar modulbaserade lättanvända mjukvarulösningar för kvalitetsinspektion, monteringsguidning och reverse engineering, som är byggda för Mastercam Design (CAD)-plattformen. Verisurf är starkt inom flyg- och försvarsindustri-segmenten och genererar intäkter runt 12 miljoner dollar per år, motsvarande ca 122 miljoner kronor.
Mastercam är världens största fristående, icke-PLM-paketerade CAM-lösning. Sandvik förvärvade företaget så sent som 2021. Totalt står företaget bakom CAD/CAM-lösningar som täcker över 270 000 installationer över hela världen inom formtillverkning, fordonsindustri, flyg- och konsumentindustri. Köpet av Mastercam är generellt sett en del av Sandviks strategiska fokus på att växa inom det digitala tillverkningsområdet, med särskild uppmärksamhet på industriell mjukvara nära komponenttillverkning.
Sett ur detta perspektiv är det nu annonserade köpet ingen gigant-affär. Totalt kommer 18 anställda att gå över till Mastercam till följd av köpen. Men inklusive Verisurf hade de förvärvade amerikanska verksamheterna en sammanlagd årlig intäkt på cirka 18 miljoner dollar 2024 (drygt 180 miljoner kronor). Effekten på Sandviks EBITA-marginal och vinst per aktie kommer, enligt pressmaterialet, att "vara något positiv". Det noteras också att förvärven kommer att vara en del av Mastercams affärsenhet och kommer att rapporteras inom affärsområdet Sandvik Manufacturing and Machining Solutions.
"Dessa förvärv stärker vår regionala närvaro och vår förmåga att betjäna våra CAM-kunder, och de stödjer vår strategi att växa inom digital tillverkning. Verisurf kommer att stärka vårt erbjudande inom mätteknik", säger Stefan Widing, koncernchef för Sandvik.
CIMCOs sonderingsteknik är en omfattande sonderingslösning för CNC-maskiner, som möjliggör direkt programmering med touchprobe inom Mastercam. CIMCOs efterbehandlingsteknik inkluderar mjukvaruverktyg som översätter Mastercam-utdata till maskinspecifik kod, vilket säkerställer sömlöst utförande på CNC-maskiner.
Men det finns andra köp vid sidan av Mastercam, som bidragit till Sandviks världsledande position inom CAM - vilka då?
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"A Combination That Provide UNBEATABLE Added Value." It will be a woman who takes over the job as top manager of Siemens' Nordic PLM division, Zandra Nilsson. This should not be remarkable in any way, but as it looks in the male-dominated PLM industry, it stands out: The number of female executive top managers is few. But don't think for a moment that Zandra Nilsson was quota-ed into the management of one of the big players in PLM, Siemens Digital Industries Software Nordics, just because she is a woman. She has been given the job because she has all the qualifications required to lead the region into the future.
After a double degree as a civil engineer and economist from Linköping University of Technology and more than a decade at IBM, she was recruited to Siemens Digital Industries Software in 2017 by the person she now succeeds, VP and Nordic head, Mats Friberg; the man who built the company to its current position as one of the market leaders in the regional PLM world, with a turnover of around SEK 2.5 billion.
When Zandra Nilsson steps onto the leadership stool on April 1, she does so after having successfully led the company's GEO Sales Team for all industries except Automotive and Aerospace & Defense. In doing so, she has laid the foundation for making the region a pioneer in the company's ongoing transformation process into a SaaS company.
This is a tough job: You not only have to be deeply tech-savvy, have exciting visions of how and where to expand, but also overcome the ever-present cold-hammered demands from top management to deliver results. Every quarter, in a continuous process where perseverance and the ability to cope with pressure are the cornerstones of professional life. That's exactly where Zandra Nilsson finds herself:
"Nobody cares what gender you are, regardless of whether you are a man or a woman, it's about showing results. Competence is more important; not just sales figures for the top management of the company, but even more so technically well-functioning and affordable solutions for customers. They must be able to trust that what they get not only keeps what we promised, but perhaps even better, provides new, unexpected profits. It is of course challenging, but we have a good organization, a number of sharp employees, specialists and an incredibly rich set of PLM and automation software in the Xcelerator portfolio, which makes life as a sales manager much easier," says Nilsson.
PLM&ERP News did an in-depth interview with her as recently as the last quarter of 2024 and in today's article we summarize what was said during this because it is highly relevant to what Zandra Nilsson stands for and what she wants to do with the Nordic movement. So how does she see the future of PLM? Why is the cloud and the SaaS model a focus? And what is Siemens' role in this?
Click on the link to read the full interview with Zandra Nilsson on PLM&ERP News.

At the turn of the coming quarter, there will be a change in the top management position in Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Nordic operation. After nearly 30 years in the company, of which the last 17 years at the helm, Mats Friberg will step down from his job on March 31 and retire.
Mats Friberg began his career at SDRC in 1996 and has held positions in sales and organizational management throughout his career, before being appointed Country Manager for the Nordics 17 years ago. During this time, he has played a crucial role in the major advances that have characterized the PLM industry from the time when, technically, it was mainly about CAD and PDM, to today's comprehensive industrial IT portfolios that tie together the entire product development process, from idea and basic specifications to 3D digital twins and a fully digitalized chain around product development and production, where i-nets provide the technical platform, where SaaS rules, and where AI dominate the path forward. As well as PLM solutions and software even provide the management and control of various functions with the products in the hands of end users. In Siemens' case, we are talking about the Xcelerator portfolio.
During Mats Friberg's time at the helm, the company's turnover has risen, according to PLM&ERP News calculation, from just over SEK15 million (around $1.5 million) in 1997 to today's SEK 2.5 billion ($250 million) turnover. This growth says something about the industrial importance that today lies within PLM and connected automation pieces.
In a comment, Siemens Edwin Severijn, Senior VP and Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa, said:
“Mats Friberg has delivered continuous growth in the Nordics and will remain in the Nordics until the end of fiscal year 2025 to support onboarding and a controlled transition to his successor.”
Friberg will be succeeded in the position by Zandra Nilsson from April 1. She joined Siemens Digital Industries Software’s Nordics business in November 2017 from IBM. Nilsson has successfully led the company’s GEO Sales Team (all industries except Automotive and Aerospace & Defense) and laid the foundation for making the region a forerunner in the company’s ongoing transformation process into a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company. PLM&ERP News conducted an in-depth interview with her as recently as October six months ago. We will publish relevant parts of this article in a separate article. A longer interview with Mats Friberg, where he summarizes the experiences from his time as executive Nordic chief for the PLM division and how he sees the future development, will be published shortly.
This news was first published on PLM&ERP News.

ERSÄTTS som Nordenbas av ZANDRA NILSSON. Vid det kommande kvartalsskiftet blir det ett byte på topposten i Nordenstyret för Siemens Digital Industries Software. Efter nära 30 år i bolaget, varav de senaste 17 åren som högste chef för Norden-rörelsen kliver Mats Friberg från den 31 mars av jobbet som bolagets Norden-chef och går i pension.
Mats Friberg började sin karriär på SDRC 1996 och har under hela sin karriär haft befattningar inom försäljning och organisationsstyrning, innan han utsågs till landschef för Nordics för 17 år sedan. Under denna tid har han spelat en avgörande roll i de stora framsteg som präglat PLM-branschen från den tid då det tekniskt sett i huvudsak mest handlade om CAD och PDM, till dagens omfattande industriella IT-portföljer som knyter ihop hela produktframtagnings-processen, från idé och grundspecifikationer till en totadigitaliserad kedja kring produktutveckling och produktion, där nätet och idag också AI täcks in. Liksom till och med hantering och styrning av olika funktioner med produkterna i slutanvändarnas händer. I Siemens fall talar vi om Xcelerator-portföljen.
Under Mats Fribergs tid vid rodret har omsättningen inom bolaget, enligt PLM&ERP News beräkningar, stigit från drygt 15 miljoner 1997 till dagens 2,5 miljarders-omsättning. Denna tillväxt säger en del om den industriella betydelsen som idag ligger inom PLM- och kopplade automationsbitar.
I en kommentar säger Siemens Edwin Severijn, senior VP och chef för Europa, Mellersta Östern och Afrika:
”Mats Friberg har levererat kontinuerlig tillväxt i Norden och kommer att vara kvar i den nordiska verksamheten fram till slutet av räkenskapsåret 2025 för att stödja onboarding och en kontrollerad övergång till sin efterträdare.”
Friberg efterträds på posten av Zandra Nilsson från den 1 april. Hon kom till Siemens Digital Industries Softwares Norden-rörelse i november 2017 från IBM. Nilsson har framgångsrikt lett bolagets GEO Sales Team (alla branscher utom Automotive och Aerospace & Defence) och lagt grunden till att göra regionen till en föregångare i bolagets pågående omvandlingsprocess till ett SaaS-företag (Software-as-a-Service). PLM&ERP News gjorde en djupintervju med henne så sent som i oktober för ett halvår sedan. Vi publicerar i en separat artikel relevanta delar av denna artikel här intill.
En längre intervju med Mats Friberg, där han summerar erfarenheterna från sin tid som exekutiv Norden-bas för PLM-divisionen och hur han ser på den framtida utvecklingen, kommer att publiceras inom kort.
Denna nyhet först publicerad på PLM&ERP News.

"INNOVATIONS such as CLOUD COMPUTING, EDGE ANALYTICS, IIOT and AI are today leaving MAJOR TRACES in the development of MES." IDC's annual evaluation of the players in the MES area (Manufacturing Execution Systems) is always an interesting read when it comes to industrial production technology. When the analyst recently presented its MarketScape 2024-2025 Worldwide Manufacturing Execution System, with the most important systems on the market, Siemens tops the Leaders “wave” ahead of Critical Manufacturing and AVEVA. While Rockwell, Dassault Systemes, Infor and SAP, among others, fall a bit behind, even though they are still positioned within the leadership area.
That Siemens Digital Industries Software's Opcenter platform ends up as a clear leader is not surprising. Certainly, many players feel called, but few are selected for the absolute MES top in IDC's evaluation. An outstanding Siemens strength is about the combination of capabilities that spans the entire product realization field; including the product development (PLM) and manufacturing automation areas with the market's broadest, most functionally rich and well-integrated software set in the Xcelerator portfolio.
The seamless connection and integration with PLM and the product development side can be seen as a key. Of course, MES solutions themselves are a fundamental aspect of a successful manufacturing setup. Not least because the primary purpose of the domain is to track and document the transformation of raw materials into finished products in real time. A capable MES system should be able to capture data from various sources, such as machines, sensors and operators, to provide accurate and up-to-date information about the status of production activities. But MES is not alone in this; the increasing impact of digitalization and AI solutions in product realization is strengthening the ties to PLM and product development. This means that to effectively coordinate against changing value chains, seamless integrations with transparent, well-connected applications are needed. In short, innovations such as cloud computing, edge analytics, IIoT and AI are today leaving major traces in the development of MES.
Siemens is on this train. Today, there is a shift to cloud solutions for greater flexibility and scalability, along with an emphasis on user-friendly features such as low code/no code and plug-and-play. In addition, MES is increasingly being used to support energy management and sustainability work as companies focus on these priorities. Siemens X solutions; cloud-dedicated, SaaS-based, and with scalability and a ready-made infrastructure at the forefront are excellent reflections of this.
"With a wide range of solutions available, it is important to choose an MES that addresses the specific characteristics of production processes and industries, can be quickly deployed for immediate benefits, and is designed to remain relevant in the future," comments IDC's Lorenzo Veronesi, Associate Research Director for Manufacturing Insights.
"The recognition of Siemens as a MES leader highlights our rapid pace of innovation to provide our customers with world-class integrated technology," says Tobias Lange, senior VP at Siemens for Manufacturing Operations Management, Digital Manufacturing.
Click on the headline to read the full article on PLM&ERP News.

UNEXPECTED CHOICE OF OLA ROLLÉN, BUT HEXAGON's SO HAS SURPRISED BEFORE… Last week's most interesting news on the leadership front in digital industrial technology, automation, PLM, and EAM was undoubtedly Hexagon's recruitment of Konecranes CEO, Anders Svensson, to the role of President and CEO. Svensson, who has been leading the material handling group Konecrane for about two years, will take the helm on July 20 and replace acting CEO, Norbert Hanke. The latter had to step in as a temporary leader when Paolo Guglielmini who, in November 2024, after barely two years in the post, had to leave the job.
A general observation is that it isn’t entirely easy to find a replacement who can live up to and match Ola Rollén's exceptionally dynamic and entrepreneurial leadership. During his 20-year tenure as CEO, which ended 2022, Hexagon developed from a disparate industrial conglomerate with questionable growth prospects into a successful international technology group with revenues of approximately $5.5 billion.
Above all, the growth was built on advanced metrology equipment, sensors, software and digital industrial production technology with a portfolio consisting of both hardware and software. Through the acquisition of a large number of companies and brands, the group grew into a world player in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous technologies. Among the acquisitions are Brown & Sharpe (Metrology) and Leica Geosystems (Geomatics). In the PLM and EAM areas, the purchases of Intergraph (3D CAD, Advanced Process Engineering), MSC Software (Simulation & Analysis/CAE), Vero Software (CAM, including EdgeCAM), DP Technology (CAM, Esprit) and Infor (EAM, Enterprise Asset Management) stand out. Hexagon actually bought more than 150 companies during Rollén's years as executive manager.
The man who has now taken on the challenges that come with the leadership position at Hexagon, Anders Svensson, comes from Finnish Konecranes, where he has been President and CEO since October 2022. Before his current role, Svensson has held senior positions within Sandvik since 2008. Most recently as CEO of Sandvik Rock Processing Solutions and member of Sandvik's Group Management. Incidentally, a group where Ola Rollén himself worked when he became CEO of Sandvik Stål (today Sandvik Materials Technology) in 1999.
"Anders Svensson has a strong track record of leadership experience, improved corporate culture, customer focus and delivery of strong growth and improved profitability. Under his leadership, Hexagon will be well positioned to capture the significant opportunities ahead," says Ola Rollén, now Hexagon's Chairman of the Board.
Svensson himself comments on his new job by saying that he joins the company at an exciting time:
"With market-leading positions in both sensors and software, a history of innovation and a strong industrial culture, Hexagon is uniquely positioned to capture disruptive growth opportunities in areas such as autonomy, robotics, digital twins and the application of AI," he says.
Among the challenges are targets for very aggressive growth and, not least, driving forward Hexagon's plans to spin off the Asset Lifecycle Intelligence (ALI) division.
Click on the headline to read the full article on PLM&ERP News.

OVÄNTAT VAL AV OLA ROLLÉN, MEN HEXAGONS SO HAR ÖVERRASKAT FÖRR. Förra veckans mest intressanta nyhet på ledarfronten inom digital industriteknik, PLM, EAM och automation var tveklöst Hexagons värvning av Konecranes koncernchef, Anders Svensson, till rollen som ny President och CEO för bolaget. Svensson, som suttit runt två på chefsstolen på Konecranes, tillträder jobbet den 20 juli och ersätter då tillförordnade chefen, Norbert Hanke, som i sin tur fick hoppa in som ersättare för på jobbet för Paolo Guglielmini som i november 2024, efter knappt två år på posten, fick gå på dagen.
Indikationen är att det inte tycks ha varit helt lätt att hitta en ersättare som kan leva upp till och matcha Ola Rolléns synnerligen dynamiska och entreprenöriella ledarskap. Under hans 20-åriga chefstid utvecklades Hexagon från ett disparat industrikonglomerat med tveksamma tillväxtutsikter till en framgångsrik internationell teknologikoncern med intäkter på ca 5,5 miljarder dollar, med dagens kurs motsvarande drygt tio gånger så mycket i kronor.
Framför allt byggde tillväxten på avancerad mätutrustning, sensorer och digital industriell produktionsteknik med en portfölj bestående av både hård- och mjukvaror. Genom uppköp av ett stort antal företag och varumärken växte bolaget till en världsspelare inom digital industriproduktion. Bland förvärven märks bl a Brown & Sharpe (Metrologi) och Leica Geosystems (Geomatik). På PLM- och EAM-områdena står köpen av Intergraph (3D CAD, Advanced Process Engineering), MSC Software (Simulering & Analys/CAE), Vero Software (CAM, bl a EdgeCAM), DP Technology (CAM, Esprit) och Infor (EAM, Enterprise Asset Management) ut. Hexagon köpte faktiskt fler än 150 bolag under Rolléns 20-åriga exekutiva chefssejour.
Mannen som nu antagit utmaningarna som följer med ledartaburetten på Hexagon, Anders Svensson, kommer alltså från finska Konecranes, en global ledare inom materialhanteringslösningar, där han har varit VD och koncernchef sedan oktober 2022. Före sin nuvarande roll har Svensson haft ledande befattningar inom Sandvik sedan 2008. Senast som. CEO för Sandvik Rock Processing Solutions och medlem av Sandviks koncernledning. För övrigt en koncern där Ola Rollén själv jobbat då han1999 blev han CEO på Sandvik Stål (numera Sandvik Materials Technology).
"Anders Svensson har en stark meritlista när det gäller ledarskapserfarenhet, förbättrad företagskultur, kundcentrering och leverans av stark tillväxt och förbättrad lönsamhet. Under hans ledning kommer Hexagon att ha goda förutsättningar att fånga de stora möjligheter som ligger framför oss,” säger Ola Rollén, numera Hexagons styrelseordförande.
Svensson själv säger i en kommentar att han kommer till bolaget i en spännande tid:
”Med marknadsledande positioner inom både sensorer och mjukvara, historia av innovation och stark industrikultur är Hexagon unikt placerat för att fånga disruptiva tillväxtmöjligheter inom sånt som autonomi, robotlösningar, digitala tvillingar och tillämpningen av AI,” säger han.
Bland utmaningarna finns målsättningar om en mycket aggressiv tillväxt och inte minst att driva vidare Hexagons planer på att knoppa av Asset Lifecycle Intelligence-divisionen (ALI).
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