This focus changes the very nature of Western Star's design based competitive advantage. This tremendous flexibility in the design process is invaluable to Western Star as it strives to meet its customers' needs. A virtual design environment also facilitates collaborative efforts among frame layout engineers, regardless of their physical location. Western Star engineers in the United States and Canada can share ideas and work collaboratively on a single design. The Compaq Professional Workstation SP700 has proven to be well suited for this virtual team approach.
Low maintenance reflects favorably in the calculation for total cost of ownership.
Western Star has 30 Compaq Professional Workstation SP700 systems in service and 80 more on the way. Western Star needs to do more in a day to maintain its commitment to customization and at the same time, pursue its aggressive growth strategy. Parametric Technologies and Compaq are Western Star's partners in this venture. Compaq is committed to work with Parametric Technologies to ensure that Western Star remains at the cutting edge in mechanical automation. Indeed, Compaq, Parametric Technologies and Western Star are in it for the long haul.