EPLAN GmbH & Co, maker of the world's most popular computer-aided electrical engineering design tool, expects sales in China will grow more than 100 percent this year on the back of the nation's growing manufacturing sector.
Its software packages, which help engineers design electrical and automation systems on computers instead of drawing lines on paper, are becoming accepted by big Chinese machinery makers together with their overseas counterparts, Shou Huidong, sales director of EPLAN Asia Pacific region, said yesterday.
"Some large-scale Chinese companies have realized the importance of engineering design in their production and they need higher sophistication and efficiency in the process," said Shou, who declined to give any specific figures.
Engineering usually makes up 25 to 30 percent of a machinery maker's overall cost when it comes to setting up the electrical and automation systems.
To boost sales, the company launched its latest product, EPLAN Electric 8, which integrates its previous versions, for the China market in Shanghai yesterday.
The German-based company, whose products are used in electrical and automation designing by almost all major auto makers and machinery firms like Siemens and ABB, has already nearly tripled sales in China since 2005, when it opened its China sales and after-sale service center.
The center was for the training of users as its software, despite the powerful function, is difficult to master for engineers. It is also much more expensive than other products on the market.
EPLAN has a 65 percent share in the electrical engineering design software business in its home market.
The global market of the overall computer-aided engineering software is expected to reach US$8 billion in 2014, according to industry data.