Farnborough-based
PTC, one of the UK’s leading providers of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) solutions for design and manufacturing companies, is reporting a 25% increase in sales in 2020, with operational issues caused by Covid-19 accelerating the race for digital transformation.
The company has seen strong growth across its portfolio, including its IIoT platform, product lifecycle management and CAD solutions across all industries.
It has also been driving the industrial use of augmented reality (AR) through its Vuforia Expert Capture software, which allows processes to be recorded, edited in the cloud and then viewed in another location via wearable technology, such as Microsoft HoloLens.
Initially this was being used by companies to teach processes to new staff, but the solution delivered unique value during the start of the pandemic when PTC worked with the VentilatorChallengeUK Consortium to train hundreds of frontline workers to produce ventilators at various sites across the country.
This approach to rapidly building new Smiths and Penlon production lines enabled the successful delivery of over 13,000 ventilators to the NHS in just a few months.
David Grammer, PTC general manager of UK and Ireland, said: “We are seeing phenomenal growth in the number of businesses embracing digitalisation, with many bringing forward projects in order to avoid situations seen earlier this year.”
“What has gone from ‘general interest, but we will take action later’ has turned into ‘we want it now’, which has seen our integration teams implementing our IIoT platform and AR remote app to enable work to continue despite travel bans and social distancing restrictions.”
He continued: “Over the last twelve months, sales have risen 25% in the UK and Ireland and we expect the upward growth trend to continue as we work to turn this interest in digital technologies into operational and commercial benefits for our customers.”
PTC’s operational structure has been further boosted with the recent appointment of Troy Richardson as executive vice president and COO (pictured) . An accomplished enterprise technology executive, he has more than three decades of sales and operational leadership and has helped drive rapid growth for some of the biggest brands in the software industry.
Mr Richardson will lead the company’s operations teams, including global sales, commercial marketing, customer service and customer success.
He said: “I couldn’t be more excited to join at this important moment in the company’s history. PTC has an impressive roster of customers, a broad portfolio of innovative technologies and a strong management team. We are on the cusp of a new chapter in PTC’s remarkable history and I look forward to helping define it, including supporting continued growth in the UK and Ireland.
“These territories have extremely strong links with cutting-edge R&D and academic institutions and a solid footprint in engineering and manufacturing. We will continue to build these relationships, while further expanding our footprint in food and beverage and life sciences.”