1994 - 1995 [the early years]
The company was founded in 1994 with the goal of becoming a leading supplier for Computer Aided Design, Computer Aided Manufacturing and Information Technology solutions for the footwear and apparel industry. The founders, M. Gruber and S. Czap, formerly worked for various technology companies in Europe and Asia and were able to build up an excellent industry - and technology know-how - that formed the basis for their future visions. They formed a team of experts formerly working in the industry to base their products on almost 250 man-years of collective industry and technology know-how.
Today M. Gruber (COO) is managing PROCAM`s products- & sales activities and international operations where S.Czap (CEO) is responsible for corporate issues, finance & marketing and business development.
After months of intensive R&D, PROCAM launched its first PC-based CAD-System DIMENSIONS! which is still the core of PROCAMs success in the market. DIMENSIONS! was the first footwear CAD-System developed solely on the PC-platform for the PC-platform. Thus the system has no limitations like others that have only been ported from other operating systems (UNIX).
The initial development of DIMENSIONS! was managed by H. Popovic, a well-known industry expert, who consulted PROCAM in the early days. Formerly he was President (R&D) of Vicam Industries AG - Vienna, a leading CAD/CAM supplier. He was responsible for the development of some of the most innovative software solutions like PADSY (Pattern Design CAD-System) or ALCUT (Automatic Die-Less Leather Cutting & Layout System) which have set standards in the footwear-industry for many years.
1996 - 1997 [defining the core competences]
In 1996 PROCAM chose to majorly restructure, moving from a "turn-key solution provider" (pre-installed software, computer hardware and peripheral devices) to a "software, consulting and service" company with a much stronger focus on innovative solutions and service quality rather than trading 3rd party products. It was then that PROCAM developed its core competences.
Technically it was decided to move towards a more open software-architecture that better copes with the requirements of the coming years, as the Internet seemed to become the leading communication medium. PROCAM was convinced that the "work-seat-concept" (= an isolated technical installation with a strong hardware dependency) would be superseded by highly scalable solutions running in a server-based multi-tier environment or on portable PC´s (= independent of specific hardware requirements and customized to needs)
The first fully Internet-based service platform for the footwear-industry was developed. Since then PROCAM products are available for download from Internet-Servers in the USA and Europe, the introduction of "web-based installation and monitoring services" was a major milestone to better manage software-installations and control the quality of software set-up on a remote basis via the Internet. This concept led to a dramatic cost reduction in installation of systems which was highly appreciated by customers.
1998 - 1999 [establishing the market position]
In 1998 PROCAM became a "Microsoft Startegic Development Partner". The closer relationship with Microsoft enables the company to know and understand Microsoft`s technology vision better and to adjust and prepare their own products to the future developments of Microsoft. Since then PROCAM`s technical staff frequently take part in Microsoft's advanced training and education programmes.
DIMENSIONS! (V_ 3.0) has reached a degree of reliability that caused many customers to choose PROCAM. It was the first CAD-system on the market that combines 2 philosophies, namely shell and pattern oriented work, within one product. It was now that PROCAMs products convinced even the most demanding customers, and where a major market share could be established. The strongest markets have been Europe and Asia. Furthermore, the first ideas for a more global, multilingual product development approach arose.
2000 - 2001 [concepts for the new millennium]
In 2000 the concept of a "CONCURRENT COLLABORATION PLATFORM was presented to the industry. The CCP-Concept, based around a suite of different software solutions, was the first technology concept that allows better management of the process of product development as a whole. With the introduction of CCP based software solutions customers move from working in sequential steps (one task after the other) to a concurrent just-in-time process. Though just-in-time concepts had already been established in the manufacturing process, the product development process still lacked any viable solutions.
Customers have dramatically reduced time-to-market and cost employing PROCAM`s CCP-based products. In 2001 the CCP-concept was awarded with an "Outstanding Innovation Concept Award" by the Austrian Research Fund, Vienna.
2002 - 2003 [industry proven solutions]
These years were characterized by extraordinary commercial and technical development. After an 18-month benchmark and pilot project phase, PROCAM was able to gain an important new customer, a leading sports shoe-manufacturer based in Beaverton/Oregon/USA, who has now replaced the formerly used competition CAD-systems world-wide.
The new products, GDM V_3.0 (a graphical software tool allowing the multilingual creation of online- and offline product documentation), Stylemanager V_3.1. (a product data management software to be used with standard data-bases like Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, etc.) and PROCOST V_4.3. (a pre-costing system) were successfully launched. DIMENSIONS! (V_4.2.) was released in July 2003 and has become a mature 2D/3D CAD-industry standard since its first launch (V_1.0.) in 1995.
2004 - 2005 [better service the market needs]
Procam opened "Procam Far East", its Competence Center "Guangzhou" (Dictrict Guangdong/ China - PRC) to better service the Asien market. The operation is managed by Mr. Jason Lee and his team. PFE is responsible for technical sales, services and maintenance of domestic customers and international subsidaries in Asia.
In October 2005 Procam took part in "Austria`s Leading Companies" economy contest (by Price Waterhouse Coopers, Wirtschaftsblatt and KSV-1870) was awarded in the category "small enterprises".
2006-2007 [new tools for changing requirements]
In 2006/2007 major product development steps have been undertaken by Procam.
The 2D/3D - CAD software, Dimensions! experienced a complete redesign resulting in the Version 5. The new software included enhancements required by the sport-shoe manufacturing market and footwear-designers all over the world. From V_5.1. onwords also a ray-tracing functionality was available. This feature creates high level - high resolution images of the 3D-designs created in Dimensions!. Such images result in a photorealistic appearance of the design including shades, reflections, lights, etc. "Dimensions! - Design" - a pure 3D-design - software tailored to the exact needs of footwear-designers and artists was unveiled in late 2006 - the "virtual design process" has become reality!
The introduction of the first industry specific "Business Process Management Software" in 3rd quarter 2006 was highly appreciated by the industry. While the performance of single software solutions currently avalaible on the market was improved significantly over the years, business processes did not change and still lack flexibility and transparency. "BPM" is PROCAM`s answer to that problem and the first step from a "system-centric" to a "process-centric" approach that most clients require today. BPM is a "human-workflow" software that manages documents, business processes or a total product life-cycle. Due to its scalability and openness it can be implemented within any kind of company or departement, independently of its size. Many standard interfaces are included to connect to 3rd party databases, permission handling systems and mobile applications. Beside its own managment analysis tools BPM also interfaces with business intelligence systems via OLAP (Online Analytical Processing).
2008 - 2009
In summer 2008 the foundation of Procam - Slovakia took place with the goal to better service the East European markets.
Version 2.0 of BPM - Procam`s Business Process Management Software was released - and certified by Microsoft. The Software has met explicit standards of reliability and quality, and has been tested and proven to deliver a superior experience with Windows Vista.
In 2009 Procam and Siemens successfully finished the implementation of the Siemens-PLM-Software "Teamcenter" with Procam Dimensions/Stylemanager at a major international industry player. The project led to a significant reduction of time-to-market and in more transperancy thruout the whole product life-cycle.
In April 2009 Procam was awarded the Coat of Arms of the Republic of Austria, by Dr. Reinhold Mitterlehner - Ferderal Minister of Economic Affairs. The "Austrian National Coat of Arms Award" is a visible sign for public recognition of its special achievements. It is a hallmark for the quality of companies and makes success visible for all to see.
2010 - today
Today Procam offers complete software solutions and services to better manage the "product life cycle" of footwear and apparel companies. Clients range from large sized multinational companies to small innovative manufacturers. Procam has an excellent market share, highly acknowledged customers, industry proven products and concepts and is accepted as a mature and reliable partner of the industry.
The company is fully privately owned and controlled and employs a talented and highly motivated team of experts. This is a sound basis for the future.