In a joint press release PROCAD and keytech announced their merger today. After the majority takeover of ACATEC by PROCAD in March of this year, the second important German provider of software and services for the digitalization of industry with an international presence has been created – alongside Contact Software. When it comes to software, Germany still has very good cards to play, at least in the industry.
PROCAD, keytech and ACATEC (Bild PROCAD) want to combine their strengths in order to drive forward innovations and future topics with joint forces. According to the company, the focus is on optimizing cloud applications and software-as-a-service solutions.
“Together, we currently serve around 1,350 customers and more than 125,000 users worldwide, and will continue to add up to 100 new customers annually,” Gerhard Knoch, CEO of PROCAD Group (photo PROCAD), is quoted as saying. “With our team of 250 employees and our strong partner network, we will continue to expand our market position internationally.” And Reiner Heimsoth, managing director of keytech, adds: “With keytech and PROCAD, two extremely experienced companies are coming together. (…) PLM has never been so integrated.” Henning Bitter, Managing Director of ACATEC, sees a total solution “for an all-round smart, digital product lifecycle – from product configuration by the customer at the point of sale to production, operation and maintenance of the product.”
In an impromptu video call, Johann Dornbach, managing director and CTO of PROCAD (photo PRPCAD, right), and Frank Schlupp (photo keytech Süd, links), managing director of keytech Süd, commented on the planned approach after the merger. According to this, both systems will continue to be developed as separate products over the next two years under the current managing directors. However, the best solutions from each company will also be available to the other’s customers in the very near future. New functionalities will be developed directly for all systems in parallel. A joint, integrated solution under a new name and a new flag can then be expected from around 2025.