Bystronic Bestowed 2007 Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation of the Year in the European Laser Cutting Market for ByVention

Business Wire, Dec 3, 2007

LONDON -- The 2007 Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation of the Year in the European laser cutting market is presented to Bystronic. The company has revolutionised the laser cutting market with its extensive portfolio of innovative and technically advanced products. Its latest offering, ByVention, has helped to serve non-traditional clients such as niche job shops as well as other end user industries. With a customer base spanning a wide range of different industries, Bystronic has a significant market presence.

Over the years, Bystronic has identified that 80 per cent of the jobs processed are less than 500 x 500 mm in size and maximum 8 mm thickness. The company's latest product offering - ByVention - is designed for this spectrum, providing accurate and highly repeatable performance.

"The ByVention has a unique advantage in cutting reliability thanks to its integrated laser source and precise motion control unit; the shorter beam length and the single universal cutting head help the machine achieve the desired accuracy in cutting operations," explains Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Karthik Parthasarathy. "To enhance safety and ergonomics, the company has provided the machine with a fully closed cutting area and a very safe unloading zone which are both easily accessible."

Comparably low investment costs make ByVention a viable prospect not only for new users of laser technology, but also for companies that have limited capital available or are planning to invest in a secondhand machine. Due to its compact design, the machine is a first choice where space is of a premium even while original equipment manufacturers that produce a large number of standard sized parts can profit extensively from a ByVention.

"In addition to being a novel material flow and operating concept, ByVention is also a new business model and is the first laser cutting system that is sold at a uniform price worldwide," adds Mr. Parthasarathy. "The net price, to which only taxes and customs duty have to be added, includes the machine and also the CAD/CAM software package, delivery costs, assembly, commissioning and user training as well as the warranty and preventive maintenance."

The ByVention package includes a three years service contract with the first two years free of charge. The emphasis from the outset has been on fast and simple maintenance. The highest quality control standards during the production process ensure maximum reliability of the machine. Preventive maintenance helps obviate the need for expensive repairs, thus enabling the ByVention user to operate continuously, right around the clock.

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Product Innovation is presented each year to the company that has demonstrated excellence in new products and technologies within its industry. The recipient company has shown innovation by launching a broad line of emerging products and technologies.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

About Bystronic

Bystronic is a worldwide active supplier of high-quality solutions for the economical processing of sheet metal and other sheet materials. Customers profit from application-oriented systems and services for laser and waterjet cutting processes as well as bending. The Swiss company with its headquarters in Niederonz (in the Swiss canton of Berne), employed in 2006 a staff of some 1,400 and achieved translated revenues of euro 403 million.

Bystronic is a member of Conzzeta Holding, a Swiss industrial holding company with activities in the fields of machinery and engineering, automation systems, foam materials, sporting goods and real estate. The companies of the Conzzeta Group employed a staff in excess of 3,200 in 2006 and achieved translated revenues of approximately euro 811 million.

About Frost & Sullivan

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