Case Study: Freedman Seating Company achieves faster lead times and 50% fewer parts with Siemens PLM's Solid Edge

A better approach for meeting very short lead times

Freedman Seating Company, a long-established U.S. manufacturer of bus, rail and specialty vehicle seats, faced very short lead times and a large number of product variants that outgrew its 2D CAD process. To enable virtual prototyping and better design/data management, Freedman moved from SolidWorks to Solid Edge (with Insight) from Siemens PLM, gaining 3D modeling, sheet‑metal/weldment tools and Parasolid-based compatibility with key customers.

Siemens PLM’s Solid Edge and Insight were implemented across the design team to support robust assembly modeling, FEA-based virtual testing and searchable PDM for design reuse. As a result Freedman improved its ability to meet tight delivery schedules, replaced physical prototypes with virtual prototyping, cut part count by 50% and simplified data exchange with major customers and external analysts — delivering measurable cycle‑time and quality gains.

Freedman Seating Company

Pasquale Di Rico

New Products Engineering Manager