PTC acquires EDA data visualization firm

6 Apr, 2004

As part of an expanded focus on the electronics industry, PTC acquired OHIO Design Automation, a New Hampshire-based developer of electronics design collaboration software. The all-cash transaction, valued at $12 million, closed on April 7. PTC will retain all OHIO employees, and OHIO president and CEO John Lane will become a senior vice-president of PTC.

OHIO’s flagship product, InterComm, is an electronic design verification, visualization, and collaboration product used by more than 400 companies in 20 countries. It provides access to design data created in EDA (electronic design automation) applications from Cadence Design Systems, Mentor Graphics, Zuken, and other vendors. Major customers include Cisco, EMC, Harris, Maxtor, Motorola, and Raytheon. PTC will sell OHIO’s current product line and integrate InterComm with its Windchill PLM (product lifecycle management) so customers can manage EDA data across the enterprise.

"With electronics now appearing in nearly every new product across most industries, the need for effective, integrated design and management of mechanical and electronic components has become critical," states Ken Amann, director of research at CIMdata. "PLM grew out of the mechanical design world and historically provided very limited support of electronics design. . . .PTC's investment in support of electronic design as part of a complete product definition environment is a strong step forward and represents a significant event for companies in all industries."

"OHIO-DA's deep expertise and industry-leading technology will enable PTC to deliver breakthrough product lifecycle management solutions for the electronics industry," said James Heppelmann. "It is very important to us and to our customers that we preserve OHIO-DA's open, neutral approach to all major EDA software vendors. Furthermore, we intend to continue to make the technology available to other PLM partners."