Dassault Systèmes’ PLM partner TECHNIA will soon pass a notable milestone as cofounder Jonas Gejer steps down from the executive leadership. He leaves the role in the hands of long-standing TECHNIA employee Magnus Falkman, 44, who has been at the company for almost 20 years.
Gejer stood at TECHNIA’s helm for a decade, and is someone who, perhaps more than any other, lies behind TECHNIA’s 25-year journey from a small local player to becoming a world-leading Dassault partner. During the 12-month period ending September 2020, sales landed at about $140 million, of which the major part was related to the partnership with Dassault Systèmes.
What will Magnus Falkman's entry to the leadership position mean for TECHNIA? What are his views on Dassault's technology? Why does he consider TECHNIA to be, and I quote, "best in the world at implementing Dassault Systèmes' 3DEXPERIENCE platforms”? What philosophy is guiding his leadership?
In today’s in-depth interview, Falkman presents the image of a leader who personifies the values that have made TECHNIA a global PLM player with more than 650 employees and a business that spans 14 countries, from North America and Europe to India and Asia.
"What more than other factors differentiates us in the competition is our in-house developed software combined with competent co-workers. In these solutions we have been able to capture customer needs, structure them and thus not only to make ‘regular project deliveries’ but also stand for radically faster implementations, increased quality and more secure operational support. I dare to say that we can implement and get Dassault's 3DEXPERIENCE platforms up and running faster than anyone else in the world," says Falkman.
In fact, he claims that there are examples where a customer, by using TECHNIA’s proprietary Value Components software, managed to implement parts of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform in 20 hours.
“Normally, this would have been about charging upwards of a thousand consulting hours,” Falkman added.
Are these staggering gains really possible? Right or wrong, Magnus Falkman’s story, leadership style and views on Dassault, PLM, automation and new technologies is definitely worth taking note of. In this article, you will also meet Falkman’s predecessor, Jonas Gejer, and Johan Andersson, CEO at TECHNIA’s parent company and owner, Addnode Group.
No Reason to Change Track
One of the factors that is most characteristic of successful companies in virtually all areas, PLM included, is that of continuity. If you have developed technology that works, an operating culture that is based on satisfied customers and a business that provides revenue, there are few—if any—reasons to change tracks in leadership. Continuity becomes a pillar that carries on the values that have been developed in the business.
These factors apply to TECHNIA and the recent change of CEO that appointed Magnus Falkman to manage the legacy of one of the company's founders, Jonas Gejer, who held the post of CEO for almost a decade. However, Gejer's history in the company goes back much further. He has played an active role since it was inaugurated in the mid-1990s, and together with co-founder Staffan Hanstorp is one of those who meant the most to TECHNIA's move from a small PDM company to a world player in PLM and Dassault's largest system and integrator partner on the PLM side.
As Gejer steps up into the Addnode management team as VP of Business Development and hands over TECHNIA’s executive responsibility to Magnus Falkman, it is not only a milestone for the company—it is also a tough challenge for the newly appointed top executive. However, Falkman knows the business like the back of his hand, and in recent years has worked in close collaboration with Gejer. After almost 20 years in the company, he feels well prepared to manage and develop the business.
“It is extremely stimulating to take care of a movement like TECHNIA. Mainly because we have the employee competence and our own add-on software that allows us to get Dassault’s PLM platforms up and running much faster and to a higher quality than any competitor,” asserts Falkman.
Behind the Start of the U.S. Operation
Magnus Falkman started his TECHNIA career in 2002 at the company's Gothenburg office in Sweden, where he learned the business down to the last detail through five years as a solution architect and project manager, including being active in large projects such as those with the telecom giant Ericsson.
Falkman then moved to the company's U.S. operations, where he took part in establishing that venture between 2007-2009, when the present leader Rade Zrilic took over. These included selling TECHNIA's proprietary TECHNIA Value Components (TVC) solutions, a software suite for smoother implementation and operation of Dassault's PLM platforms.
Among the customers he helped to attract to the company are well-known brands such as GAP, Under Armor and Guess.
Building a New Software Division
Back in Sweden, Falkman became responsible for building up and running a team centered around TECHNIA's products being developed in-house, usually add-on solutions that sharpen the implementation and operation of the Dassault portfolio's software. In parallel, between 2010 to 2015 Falkman also worked with selling and implementing various types of Dassault software such as CATIA, ENOVIA and DELMIA, combined with the role of country manager for Norway.
“After that, together with Jonas Gejer, I participated in several expansion projects, including the large business deal where we acquired Transcat. This big deal meant that we also got our hands on several CAD-close, in-house developed products, like Q-Checker, Cava, MyPLM, and others,” explains Magnus Falkman.
It was in this context that a new division formed within TECHNIA, dedicated to the software and other proprietary IPs developed in Sweden and Norway.
“We have since continued to collect what is TECHNIA-unique in terms of software and services related to this portfolio in the division. This also applies to later purchases that we have made in France, Japan, UK, the Netherlands and others,” Falkman said.
In summary, the most important solutions in the TECHNIA portfolio with regard to areas of use in the product development work include:
Software that came with the Transcat purchase:
- CAVA - A program to ensure that vehicles meet legal requirements in different countries.
- Lite3D - Viewing and markup of neutral format.
- Q-Checker - Quality assurance of 3D geometries.
- My-PLM - Management of CAD environments and licenses.
TECHNIA's other proprietary software:
- LightMyWay - Digital adoption, guide and guidance for users to increase efficiency in 3DEXPERIENCE.
- Integration Framework - Integration framework for 3DEXPERIENCE and ENOVIA.
- Value Components (TVC) - Streamlining and efficiency for users of 3DEXPERIENCE.
- Brigade – A CAE software for calculations of infrastructure such as bridges etc., based on Abaqus.
- Tools - Management and optimization of 3DEXPERIENCE installations.
The Deal That Gave TECHNIA its Big Boost
It should be pointed out that the Transcat purchase in 2015 is historically the single most important acquisition for TECHNIA. Addnode Group's CEO Johan Andersson states that this resulted in an exponential growth push for the company.
“Absolutely, it is hardly usual for a company with a turnover of around $30 million to buy another with a turnover of nearly $60 million, as was the case in this deal,” said Andersson. “Of course, this acquisition has been very significant for TECHNIA and also for Addnode Group, which then had sales of just over $175 million. I would like to go so far as to say that this was in fact the beginning of the broader internationalization of TECHNIA, with subsequent acquisitions of companies such as Intrinsys in England, Infostrait in the Netherlands, Kpass in France and several others. Prior to that, the company was mainly Nordic, plus the U.S. movement. Suddenly, we took the steps that created a global business with operations also in Europe, India and Asia.”
Falkman adds, “Once again, this proved the value of our in-house developed software. We have already had relationships with many of the companies we acquired through our proprietary solutions. It has thus also become a way to get to know the companies more closely before the purchases.”
20 Hours Instead of 1,000
It is coming from these international jobs and division-building environments that Magnus Falkman now steps into the executive management of TECHNIA. He claims that it is exactly this—the company's ability to build strong program support around the implementation and operation of the PLM platforms from Dassault’s 3DEXPERIENCE—that is a crucial competitive advantage.
“Our own software has been developed to become an important differentiator,” he states.
So, how valuable are in-house developed add-on products to the Dassault portfolio for customers? What can concretely be gained by using, for example, TVC?
“Significantly more than you might think,” says Falkman. “We have examples where it has been possible to implement parts of the Dassault platform in just 20 hours through the TVC solutions. Normally, a corresponding implementation without TVC would have meant perhaps a thousand service hours charged. It not only makes us faster than everyone else, but also contributes to increased quality.”
With this, Falkmans message is clear: “There are few, if any, competitors that can beat TECHNIA when it comes to effective implementation and operational support.”
The interesting thing about TVC and other TECHNIA solutions is that they emanate from reality. "Born in thousands of hours of customer projects, where the experiences are documented, systematized and programmed in a software that then created much faster shortcuts to successful implementations," as Gejer describes it.
“That is absolutely the case,” Falkman confirms. “They have become part of our identity and an important foundation for growth. We have been able to capture customer needs, structure them and do more than just ’regular’ project deliveries. We can add so much more, something similar to our own IP, where those who participate in the project can grow personally and become more of R&D people.”
“With this, we create value not only for the customers and our partners who are resellers of these products, but also for our own employees. These are also factors that make us attractive as potential prospective owners when we acquire companies, which is part of our growth strategy,” he adds.
Falkman's Personal Strengths
Being involved in building new foreign branches in the TECHNIA tree; having implemented complex solutions with customers; participating in the development work of proprietary software and selling the solutions on the market—it all sounds quite broad. I asked Falkman how he would describe his personal strengths?
“As I said earlier, I have been in the company for almost 20 years and enjoyed it very much, which is of course one of the strong reasons why I have now accepted the opportunity to lead it,” says Falkman.
He continues, “I also believe that we are the best in the industry at what we do, have the sharpest employees, and the broadest knowledge there is on the market of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. What we do, what I do, feels meaningful for these reasons, among other things. I can identify with our vision of creating solutions that make product development processes long-term sustainable, both technologically and financially–in the perspective that investments in these solutions also stand for a way to technologically secure the future. The ROI’s are imminent, and investments quickly reach profitable levels and contribute to increased product quality. At the end of the day, this provides better and smarter products, for which consumers are willing to pay more. This applies to things like consumer products, electric vehicles and life sciences, just to name a few examples.”
It all boils down, he adds, to the fact that, “What we can bring to the ‘PLM table’ can contribute to making the world a better place.”
It is not hard to detect the influences from Dassault Systèmes charismatic and visionary leader, Bernard Charles.
A Culture Guided by "The Four Attitudes"
Magnus Falkman further points out that TECHNIA’s culture has developed under the leadership of the co-founders Staffan Hanstorp and Jonas Gejer. “We talk in this context about four attitudes that build our identity,” Falkman says.
These four attitudes are:
- Go explore
- Keep learning
- Work together
- Build trust
“With these, we set a framework around how we want to function as a company, what we want the driving forces to be. I lean towards these when I make my decisions, but I also think that they are so strong and simply formulated that they not only become a support for job decisions, but also for me privately in everyday life,” Falkman stated.
Both Gejer and Falkman have, for example, made the "go explore" point an important driving force, which has left footprints in the form of, for example, new customers in completely new and “unorthodox” domains.
Generally, the "Go explore” concept is about exploring new things, analyzing, evaluating and acting upon them; to dare to go beyond the usual geographies, bring in new products and explore new domains.
Of course, it also supports learning that is useful for the business—fulfilling the second point, "Keep learning"—and which in the long run is useful for the customers.
“We sell knowledge and skills; learning is of course a central part of this,” commented Falkman.
The same thing goes for the third point, “Working together.”
“Together, we 650 employees can do so much more than individuals can achieve; 1 plus 1 can be 3 instead of just 2, when the positive effects of group dynamics set in,” Falkman added. “Of course, ‘building trust’ is also a heavy point.”
“It's about people selling to other people,” he explained. “That is based on trust in both the short and long term, as it supports our relationships with, for example, Dassault. It can also be the case that customers do not always know exactly what they want; in that case, there must be confidence that we with our expertise can deliver what is needed. As an example, if we have a large PLM project with 10,000 users, it is not entirely easy to visualize the end product that corresponds to this. Everywhere, trust is a core value that we must consistently cultivate.”
Delegation and Accountability
Gejer adds that the four attitudes are key elements in the company culture at TECHNIA, and have always been an important element for him.
“It is exciting that the question comes up, because it is so crucial for how our way forward looks. As a leader, I have always cherished this and I see Magnus as a strong bearer of our culture. He has a passion for this, which has been such a big part of our journey,” says Gejer.
For Falkman, this reasoning is of utmost importance. He claims this culture is, and has always been, a decisive factor in both his and the company's success. It is about daring to delegate responsibility, but also demanding accountability when reporting the result.
“Yes, it has always been that way,” he responded. “I have received delegations and I delegate myself. I have always had P&L responsibility in this; broken down in the projects, you should be able to see what you have to do yourself, what it costs and that it should be set against the income generated.”
I ask Falkman, are you a "strict" leader in this?
“Jonas Gejer has always been a leader who set straight goals; he has since been an inspiration and pep-talker during the trip, but also demanded relevant results. It is a model that has always appealed to me and that we will continue to work on,” Falkman says. “I have furthermore been in the game for a long time and have seen that encouragement can promote good results. But you have to be realistic. PLM is complex; without our services or employees being responsible for the matter, the cycles are often dragged out and become longer. This must of course be taken into account when demanding responsibility. But doing the right thing every day, and that everyone in a project group has a common responsibility, are important pillars in the business.”
“But am I strict? Well, if you talk to my colleagues, I do not think it will be their characterization of me. It is more that I am driven, forward-looking, see opportunities and make things happen,” Falkman finishes.
Where Does the Company Stand Today and What Does The Future Look Like?
What does TECHNIA’s new leader see coming? The questions around this are of course hyper-interesting at a time when digitalization and new technologies seem to be able to turn a lot of industries upside down.
“In general, I want to say that we are well positioned in an exciting industry and where I can see good opportunities to grow in slightly different dimensions. The company has always been good at finding and developing PLM solutions for industries that were previously considered outside the possibilities of establishing PLM solutions. The construction, life sciences, retail, charter and leisure industries are excellent examples of this. Life science, for example, has gone very well, however, there is definitely more to gain here. Overall, in terms of diversification, we will continue to develop some of these industrial sectors, and continue to work on finding new ones,” Falkman says.
He further claims that it is also important to look closer at opportunities from a geographical perspective; good PLM solutions and implementations are needed everywhere in the world, and there are still some areas to cover and expand within. Falkman also notes the value for the company to continue and develop on their journey together with Dassault.
“We want to be optimally successful with all of their brands, where I still feel that some spaces remain. There are many Dassault products that can find their way to customers where we are installed and already present with other solutions. We can help them to, for example, not only use CATIA, but also SIMULIA (Dassault's CAE and simulation suite which is one of the apps on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform) or DELMIA (Dassault’s app for digital manufacturing management),” he says.
In addition to this, Falkman also has the ambition to continue to develop company employees' skills.
Why Dassault’s Technology is Key to TECHNIA’s Success
It is not hard to see why TECHNIA’s new leader embraces Dassault Systèmes' PLM platform 3DEXPERIENCE, as well as the associated software apps. They are doubtless the keys to TECHNIA's future, in the way they are related to the history of close ties between the two companies. A consequence of this, however, is that TECHNIA is also dependent on Dassault’s development of new solutions and their ability to keep up with cutting edge technological levels.
Can Dassault's PLM solutions live up to this? I have discussed the topic with qualified analysts such as CIMdata, Gartner, Forrester and others. Filtered down to the most outstanding key strengths, what are Dassault Systèmes'?
The most important general and common conclusions are about the vision and continuity of the company's executive management.
From a technical point of view, it is noted that Dassault holds strong positions in simulation and model-based system technology linked to product life cycle management. Other PLM developers and suppliers certainly have high levels of expertise in these domains, but Dassault Systèmes stands out with a very broad portfolio of technologies.
So, generally Dassault receives positive views from these qualified analysts, but there are also challenges here—challenges that Dassault also shares with other developers who have acquired a lot of technology in the form of purchased companies and solutions.
The integration of a developer’s respective main platform is one such challenge. It is a job that takes its fair amount of time, but which becomes valuable when the integration and flow between the respective software, platform and solutions can take place through smooth seamless streaming. Here, Dassault as well as the other players still have measures to take, to varying degrees.
Another concern is to upgrade customers with historical implementations who, despite new solutions, rely on older technology which can be quite complex. On the other hand, this challenge contains a positive commercial opportunity for Dassault.
Bernard Charles: Charismatic Leader with Sharp Visions
From the reasoning above, it appears that under the leadership of Bernard Charles, Dassault has been very successful in formulating sharp visions—of which Magnus Falkman also takes note.
“Yes, correct,” he says. “Dassault has a solution that is connected end-to-end, which is an excellent feature for those who look at things such as digitalization, digital twins and threads. It is an honor for us to work with the tools that we consider to be the best in the market.”
However, there has been some criticism that although the visions from Bernard Charles are certainly strong and at the forefront, at the same time Dassault as a product development organization has not always been able to deliver solutions that live up to these visions. What does Falkman say about this?
“It is only logical there would be a gap between the vision and the actual solution,” Falkman comments. “But for a sharp consultant such as TECHNIA, there are always bridging solutions in order to satisfy customer requirements. In that respect, we are an important link in the Dassault ecosystem. Having said that, there have been occasions where deeper understanding was needed to align with Dassault’s ultimate vision.”
“On the other hand, you’ve got to realize that these solutions are about complex things,” he continues. “In some respects, innovative news can become clearer as the concrete modules come into place and you get the opportunity to learn what they are about. For example, what I saw in the 2014 version of 3DEXPERIENCE was new and I couldn’t initially grasp the full consequences of the innovations. But I explored, I learned, and the capabilities it contained proved to be things so sharp that in retrospect it is difficult to imagine how capable and interconnected the systems and apps became.”
“But of course, you can admittedly come across a little ‘hole’ here and there, where vision and practice do not meet perfectly. However, this is one of the challenges of development work and with the help of what we can come up with, that type of problem always solves. It is our top competence to know what the problem is and together with the customer find a solution,” he finishes.
Can PLM Developers Really Deliver "End-to-End” Solutions?
In an interview recently published on engineering.com, Can PLM Developers Really Deliver End-to-End Solutions? SKF's CTO is Skeptical, ball bearing giant SKF's Chief Technology Officer Victoria Van Camp claimed that no PLM developer, without exception, can deliver end-to-end solutions. This standpoint is not entirely uncontroversial. To some extent, the topic comes down to semantics and what you really mean by the term ‘end-to-end.’ In its absolute meaning, claims Van Camp, not a single PLM platform can reach all the way from product development, through manufacturing, to the entire aftermarket spectrum. Much of this has to do with incomplete sensor capabilities.
The first two pieces are probably well covered, but when it comes to things such as IoT and monitoring of installed products, for example, there are some bits still needed to be able to handle the whole context. A ball bearing, for example, can show surface wear and should be replaced according to monitored sensor information. This can be handled by a PLM program today. However, the problem can be somewhere in the system as a whole; for example, where a plug is formed that stops the inflow of lubrication that keeps the surface wear in the ball bearings in trim. Today, the software and sensor capacity to analyze, find and act on data is often still lacking, as no system can collect all the data required for this.
“Yes, using that definition it may be the case that all requirements for the realization of capacities in the aftermarket are not currently met by any PLM platform supplier. On the one hand, one can imagine picking up complementary technology for this from Dassault's ecosystem. On the other hand, all customers today hardly require end-to-end in that way. Some will of course want it, but not in general and not at present,” comments Falkman.
“Then I want to point out when it comes to cooperation with other PLM suppliers that we already have many customers who run several systems from different suppliers, not least on the CAD side, and we certainly solve this and ensure that the process flows work smoothly,” Falkman adds. “We help our customers integrate both these varied CAD systems and also other PLM systems. I have never been of the opinion that we need to be exclusive with our customers. We have an open attitude and always solve customers' problems in this. The customer is in focus.”
The outgoing TECHNIA boss, Jonas Gejer, points out in this context that cooperation with other PLM systems and program providers is not a major problem.
“We always solve this, but then you have to remember that several large customers, such as Scania, Volvo, Ericsson and others often also have completely self-developed, proprietary systems, where it can be a little more complex to solve the connections. It can be about systems that have been developed at the specific company for 20-30 years, it is clear that there can be problems getting around here, which takes a little longer,” Gejer says.
Falkman’s Views of New Technologies
I asked Falkman for his views on new technologies:
What are your views on IoT, for example?
“Extremely interesting, and we are already there. For five to six years, we have run a collaboration with a startup in France, Optim Data, where we used its InUse software. We have developed well working solutions for the dairy industry, the packaging industry and other sectors, for example. We thus handle this with the help of InUse solutions, for instance when it comes to optimizing plant operation, filling of packages and service pieces. Today, what was previously a small problem, such as being able to ‘pump’ data from the machines to our IoT solution, is not a major problem as there are now built-in solutions for this in the machines.”
Additive manufacturing?
“We have worked a lot with this, not least through our English companies and our simulation group. There are good solutions and we deliver them to, for example, the vehicle area (F1) and the aviation area (Airbus). Typically, the simulation side means a lot in these arenas and Dassault's software in the SIMULIA suite is very strong.”
Augmented Reality (AR)?
“Exciting technology that now storms in. We already deliver solutions in the area today, but I still see a good growth potential here. Digital twins in combination with AR/VR look very interesting and are really up-and-coming technologies.”
Digital twins?
“It is actually already the core of what we are doing, and it will be a driving force in what we do in the future. The more information that can be linked to this digital model, the more it will be able to include and manage ‘itself.’ At its ideal level, a digital twin can even ‘tell’ how it should be manufactured and today it can already provide information to the PLM system about how the product is used in the field, in order to contribute to innovations around ‘itself.’ At Dassault, this has been driven extremely far with tools that even allow you to create digital human twins. Here Dassault is at the forefront with opportunities for realistic interaction between machines and humans. We are already seeing how medical treatments can be tried on digital patients in order to be optimized. Hugely exciting development here, where tailor-made treatments are not far away at all.”
Finally, how does the incoming TECHNIA manager view the competitive situation?
“It is a little different depending on markets. Partly geographically and partly domain-wise. But in general, we aspire to be the best Dassault dealer in the world,” Falkman concludes.
Is this a realistic objective? Many suggest that this can be the case, as few players in the Dassault sphere have accumulated so much expertise, have so many program-based shortcut solutions and such a good track record as TECHNIA.
Strong leadership means a lot when it comes to these ambitions. Magnus Falkman stands for one.