Siemens has secured a wider software deployment at Belgian weaving machinery maker Picanol, which is adopting tools from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio across product engineering, product lifecycle management and simulation.
Picanol builds airjet and rapier weaving machines and employs more than 1,200 people globally. The company will use the software across development and production work on its next-generation machine platforms, including the OmniPlus-i Connect and the Ultimax.
Picanol is rolling out Siemens Designcenter NX for product engineering and Teamcenter for product lifecycle management, aiming to streamline operations and reduce customisations through out-of-the-box processes and workflows.
The company will also create connections between Siemens tools and its enterprise resource planning and manufacturing execution systems, integrating ERP and MES connectivity into the programme.
Alongside engineering and PLM software, Picanol is using Simcenter software and applying Siemens digital twin technology in its design process. This approach supports product performance optimisation, machine design, and sustainable, energy-efficient development.
Johan Verstraete, Vice-President Weaving Machines at Picanol, described the relationship in operational terms. "Siemens is leading us on our digital transformation journey. Its consistent support, local presence and deep understanding of our business made them the clear choice," he said.
Verstraete also highlighted the way product configuration affects data management and development. "Teamcenter capabilities will help us manage the ever-increasing complexity of our products and better cope with the high configurability and variability which uniquely defines each Picanol weaving machine as a tailor-made solution for our valued customers."
The decision includes Psicontrol, part of the Picanol Group, which will adopt Teamcenter as a collaboration platform. Psicontrol will use the system throughout development and manufacturing for controller hardware and software, strengthening the digital thread across the organisation.
Siemens framed the deployment as an example of virtual design and validation. Patrick Fokke, Vice President for Benelux at Siemens Digital Industries Software, noted that leveraging Xcelerator enables Picanol to design and validate complex machines virtually before production, thereby improving energy efficiency and reducing waste. He also referenced the decade-long collaboration between the companies and the continued use of Siemens Xcelerator to support strategic decision-making.
The deployment covers multiple stages of Picanol's process, from engineering design through lifecycle management and simulation, and extends Teamcenter use to controller development at Psicontrol, aligning product and control development under a common collaboration environment.
Picanol's next-generation platforms will serve as a test case for how engineering, PLM, and simulation tools integrate with existing enterprise systems and factory execution environments, while continuing to use the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio across new weaving machine platforms and related controller technology.