FACTON Launches North American Operations in Michigan to Assist Automotive and Manufacturing Companies, Enhance Profitability, Reduce Products Costs, Improve Efficiencies

AUBURN HILLS, Mich., Dec. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- With its sights set on assisting the automotive industry and manufacturing companies in the U.S. to enhance profitability, reduce product costs and increase efficiencies, FACTON, Germany has recently opened its North American operations -- FACTON, Inc. -- at 3250 University Drive, Suite 105, in Auburn Hills, Mich.

A world-leading product lifecycle costing (PLC) software solutions provider, FACTON can assist customers save time and money, including:

    -- Shortening time to market by up to 30 percent;
    -- Reducing product costs of complex goods by up to 8 percent;
    -- Increasing efficiencies -- through consistent software with a central
       database for global use; and
    -- Decreasing the chances of incurring losses after product launch.

FACTON's costing solutions analyze, simulate and optimize product costs across all departments and through all product stages -- from pre-quote to end of life.

Led by CEO Martin Nehls, who co-founded FACTON in 1998 with his brother Thoralf Nehls, FACTON is poised for growth in a market continuously seeking cost reductions, shorter product development time and overall improved processes.

"The auto industry and manufacturing organizations are facing stiffer global competition and growing cost pressures, especially in this tough economic environment," Nehls said. "FACTON has proven experience increasing efficiencies for OEMs and tier suppliers and shortening time to market. We look forward to applying our solid expertise and software solutions to assist companies of all sizes enjoy the benefits of our costing solutions."

With committed employees in consulting, development and support, FACTON and its partners provide industrial expertise to allow strategic decision making by customers. The database-based software solution is built on the Microsoft .NET Framework (FACTON is a Microsoft Certified Partner) and interfaces with existing systems, including enterprise resource planning (ERP) and product data management (PDM), as well as product lifecycle management (PLM) and computer-aided design (CAD) software.

"Currently, many manufacturers of complex goods -- even international corporations -- are still using Excel files to calculate production costs," Nehls said. "These companies are missing opportunities to more effectively identify cost drivers early on and succeed in the marketplace with profitable products."

FACTON serves a number of industries, including automotive, aerospace, manufacturing equipment, medical products and consumer goods. Among the small, medium sized and global companies that have taken advantage of FACTON's solutions include Bentley Motors, HAUTAU, Behr, Mahle, ZF, SiemensVDO Automotive, Magna Powertrain, Intier Automotive, Airbus and Brose.

Nehls also pointed out that "it is especially important to thank L. Brooks Patterson and his staff at Oakland County and The Michigan Economic Development Corporation for their tireless efforts in promoting Michigan as a place to expand our global operations."

About FACTON

FACTON Inc., headquartered in Auburn Hills, Mich., is the North American operations of FACTON which was founded in Dresden, Germany in 1998. Today, the company also has locations in Potsdam, Hamburg, Barcelona and Detroit. The company currently has 70 employees in the U.S., Germany and Spain, and 475 professionals in partner organizations covering engineering, finance and information technologies. FACTON was founded by brothers Martin and Thoralf Nehls, who combine financial and engineering background and experience into practical lifecycle costing software solutions.

The two had already founded an industrial service provider, I-BN GmbH, with 120 employees and six branches. They successfully expanded the company over the following nine years. The brothers handed I-BN over to a larger player in the field of design services and have been concentrating their efforts on growing FACTON ever since. Hasso Plattner Ventures and EXTORAL have been financial investors in FACTON since 2006. The company increased its focus on international market presence in 2007. For more information, contact:

    America
    FACTON Inc.
    Raymond D. Wagner
    (248)-364-0000
    ray.wagner@facton.com

    Europe
    FACTON GmbH
    Katrin Becker
    +49 331 97992402
    presse@facton.com