UGS was a

computer software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...

company headquartered in

Plano, Texas Plano ( ) is a city in Collin County and Denton County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 285,494 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. History European settlers came to the area near ...

, specializing in 3D & 2D

Product Lifecycle Management In industry, Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is the process of managing the entire lifecycle of a product from its inception through the engineering, design and manufacture, as well as the service and disposal of manufactured products. PL ...

(PLM)

software Software is a set of computer programs and associated documentation and data. This is in contrast to hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. At the lowest programming level, executable code consist ...

. Its operations were amalgamated into the

Siemens Digital Industries Software Siemens Digital Industries Software (formerly UGS and then Siemens PLM Software) is an American computer software company specializing in 3D & 2D Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software. The company is a business unit of Siemens, operates u ...

business unit A strategic business unit (SBU) in business strategic management, is a profit center which focuses on product offering and market segment. SBUs typically have a discrete marketing plan, analysis of competition, and marketing campaign, even though ...

of Siemens Industry Automation division, when

Siemens Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

completed the US $3.5 billion acquisition of UGS on May 7, 2007. UGS' flagship products were NX, a

CAD Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

CAM Calmodulin (CaM) (an abbreviation for calcium-modulated protein) is a multifunctional intermediate calcium-binding messenger protein expressed in all eukaryotic cells. It is an intracellular target of the secondary messenger Ca2+, and the bin ...

/ CAE commercial software suite, and Teamcenter, an integrated set of PLM and collaboration ( cPD) tools. The company's portfolio also contained NX I-deas, NX Nastran,

Solid Edge Solid Edge is a 3D CAD, parametric feature and synchronous technology solid modeling software. It runs on Microsoft Windows and provides solid modeling, assembly modelling and 2D orthographic view functionality for mechanical designers. Throu ...

, Imageware, Tecnomatix, Jack, SDK, Femap, D-Cubed, JT, PLM Vis, PLM XML, and

Parasolid Parasolid is a geometric modeling kernel originally developed by Shape Data Limited, now owned and developed by Siemens Digital Industries Software. It can be licensed by other companies for use in their 3D computer graphics software products. ...

History

Inception as United Computing: 1963 to 1975

The first commercial product developed by UGS was called UNIAPT. Released in 1969 by a software company then called United Computing, UNIAPT was one of the world's first end-user

products. United Computing was founded in 1963 above a hair salon in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...

, and went on to purchase the Automated Drafting and Machining (ADAM) software code from MGS in 1973. The code became a foundation for a product called UNI-GRAPHICS, later sold commercially as Unigraphics in 1975.

As a McDonnell Douglas company: 1976 to 1991

In 1976, United Computing was acquired by the

Aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and ast ...

company

McDonnell Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it ...

(now part of

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and ...

), who created new CAD/CAM divisions, naming one the Unigraphics Group. Finally, in 1980, Unigraphics was released, marking the group's first true 3D modeling hardware and software offering. Already home to McDonnell Douglas, the Unigraphics Group grew in St. Louis, Missouri, which became the new headquarters.

EDS: 1991 to 2004

In 1991, the

Systems Integration groups, including Unigraphics, were acquired by EDS (then a part of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Corp., later part of

HP Enterprise Services DXC Technology is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. History DXC Technology was founded on April 3, 2017 when the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE) ...

and now

DXC Technology DXC Technology is an American multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia. History DXC Technology was founded on April 3, 2017 when the Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company (HPE ...

). EDS branded the acquired business as EDS Unigraphics. Eventually, in 1997 EDS set up its Unigraphics division as a wholly owned subsidiary called Unigraphics Solutions. EDS took Unigraphics Solutions public while continuing to own majority controlling shares in Unigraphics. During this time, Unigraphics acquired a few companies itself including Engineering Animation, Inc., the former

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines in central Iowa. It is best known as the home of Iowa State University (ISU), with leading agriculture, design, engineering, and veterinary me ...

-based visualization company. In 1999 the company acquired ''

Applicon Applicon, Incorporated was one of the first manufacturers of Computer Aided Design and Manufacturing (CAD/CAM) systems. It was co-founded in 1969 in Bedford, Massachusetts by four founders working at the MIT Lincoln Lab: Fontaine Richardson who ...

'', a long term player in the EDA field. In 2001, the company was renamed to UGS. EDS repurchased all outstanding stock and acquired

SDRC SDRC (''Structural Dynamics Research Corporation'') is a leading company specializing in MCAE (Mechanical Computer Aided Engineering) and PLM (Product Lifecycle Management) software. History SDRC was formed by engineers, led by then associate pr ...

- a former competitor of Unigraphics - and merged both into a single Line of Business (LOB) named EDS PLM Solutions.

UGS Corporation: 2004 to 2007

In 2004 EDS sold off its EDS PLM Solutions business to the private equity group of

Bain Capital Bain Capital is an American private investment firm based in Boston. It specializes in private equity, venture capital, credit, public equity, impact investing, life sciences, and real estate. Bain Capital invests across a range of industry se ...

Silver Lake Partners Silver Lake is an American global private equity firm focused on investments in technology, technology-enabled and related industries. Founded in 1999, the firm is one of the largest technology investors in the world. Its investment holdings hav ...

, and

Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. The firm currently has over ...

. The company resumed operating under the UGS name following the private equity sale. In 2005, UGS purchased Tecnomatix Technologies Ltd.

Acquisition by Siemens: 2007

On January 24, 2007 the German electronics giant

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

announced the acquisition of UGS for US$3.5 billion; and after completion of the deal, UGS became part of Siemens Automation & Drives group as the UGS PLM Software division before being renamed to

References

{{reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite web , author=Wayne Carlson , year=2003 , url=http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/lesson10.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040705210355/http://accad.osu.edu/~waynec/history/lesson10.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=July 5, 2004 , title=A Critical History of Computer Graphics and Animation, Section 10: CAD/CAM/CADD/CAE , publisher=The Ohio State University , access-date=January 9, 2006 {{cite web , author = UGS , year = 2005 , url =http://www.ugs.com/about_us/facts_philosophy/timeline.shtml , title = About Us: Facts & Philosophy: Company Timeline , access-date=January 9, 2006

External links

Former company web site of UGS
Technology companies established in 1963 Product lifecycle management Companies based in Plano, Texas Defunct software companies of the United States Siemens Software companies disestablished in 2007