Page 60: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2024)

IN THE SHIPYARD

Cut Shipyard Waste, by Design

Almacam is a leader in nesting-CAM software for shipyards. Philippe

Rouzeau, Manager of the Shipyard Team, Almacam, explains how it solutions can help shipyards shave production costs and increase ef? ciency.

By Greg Trauthwein lmacam is a 45-year-old, employee-owned com- tively representing approximately 20% of its overall market.

pany created by researchers that were mono-fo- “I think the shipbuilding market is a bit conservative regard- cused on developing nesting algorithms in a labo- ing modern technologies, but this can be easily explained,”

Aratory of Grenoble University, France, aiming to said Rouzeau. “First, the shipyard must keep and continue to bring this nesting algorithm tech to the industry. use its CAM solution for the ships, or series of ships, that has

According to Rouzeau, it is the world's only independent been already built, sometimes for tens of years, for mainte-

CAD-CAM software publisher offering CAM solutions nance or traceability constraints. They cannot afford to use across industries, including aeronautics, agricultural equip- two CAD-CAM solutions for the same project. As a result, ment, steel construction, mechanical welding and, of course, they adopt a new CAD-CAM solution when they launch a shipbuilding and offshore construction. new project, and that does not happen every day.”

Today the Alma Group has a nearly $20 million turnover, But the main reason is that the adoption of the new CAD- supporting 170 crew members and eight subsidiaries in CAM solution, however effective it may be, impacts a lot of

France, Italia, Germany, Spain, Singapore, China, Brazil and people in the organization of a shipyard. “So the IT depart- the U.S. It works with 20 resellers and partners globally, with ment is involved because he has to integrate with, or help, approximately 30,000 product licenses globally, a total which our CAD-CAM system inside their IT environment. The includes equipping 40 shipyards, with shipbuilding cumula- design, meaning the CAD department, is involved because

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