Pegasus

Integrated engineering processing & materials technologies for the European sector

PEGASUS forms part of a long line of development within the automotive industry aimed at decreasing lead times, reducing costs & improving flexibility of manufacturing. As expectations of higher standards of living become the norm across Europe, automotive companies need to find new ways to compete with emerging countries with low wage costs. In order to compete, it will be necessary to innovate technology to make supply chains shorter & quicker; to combine multiple operations into single operations; & to include suppliers in partnership with customers to cut out, for instance, unnecessary reinvention of processes.

One of the major keys to achieving this goal is the creation of an IDEE - Integrated Design & Engineering Environment - which will pull EU SMEs (Small to Medium Enterprises) together into a pool, communicating with each other & customers, & acting as a single supplier. The IDEE platform developed within PEGASUS will facilitate the integration of functions, processes & Materials in a single industrial process.

The consortium estimates that the outcome of the project could increase the size of the market open to SMEs by up to 30%. Growth in the sector as a result of PEGASUS could create an estimated 40,000 new jobs for SMEs.

The main goals of the project are to:

• Develop a new Integrated Design & Engineering Environment (IDEE) for SMEs supplying the automotive sector to support the 5-day car concept that will facilitate the integration of functions, processes & materials in a single industrial process.
• Integrate knowledge from within the new supply chain concept allowing SMEs to co-operate & provide a quick, high-tech & customisable service directly to OEMs at a lower cost.
• Make use of nanoparticles in colouring technology, disassembly on command components & local reinforcements to improve the components' performance.

Start date: 01/09/2006
Completion date: 31/08/2010

For more information, please visit - www.pegasus-eu.net

Participants