Durban-based Ulster Carpet Mills and Johannesburg industrial design company, Artec Product Design, won the Autodesk Design Technology Awards at the Export and Technology Excellence Awards at a glittering ceremony at Gallagher Estate, Midrand, recently.

The awards were presented to the recipients by President Thabo Mbeki, Dr Ben Ngubane, Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Alec Erwin, Minister of Trade and Industry, and Errol Ashwell, managing director of Autodesk Africa. Together, Ulster and Arctec earned South Africa in excess of R73m in export revenue in 1999.

The winner of the Autodesk Award for the most effective use of design technology in the built environment, Ulster, has successfully grown its export turnover to approximately 70% of its total turnover. International projects undertaken by the company include a R3,4m contract for the provision of 20 000 m² of carpet for the exclusive 'Le Royal' hotel and conference centre in Amman, Jordan.

Design technology has enabled Ulster to custom design, weave and install large-venue carpets for hotels, office blocks and conference centres. The company designs and weaves large modular designs as single pieces. Using floor plans created using Autodesk's AutoCAD technology, the company has devised a technique that allows it to simulate the final look and layout of the carpet on an electronic floor plan.

Winner in the manufacturing sector

Artec Product Design is the winner of the Autodesk award for the most effective use of design technology in the manufacturing sector. In 1999, the compact five-person Artec consultancy last year created more than 10 design projects, which helped to generate in excess of R10m in exports for the country.

Designs included several handheld Internet devices for Embedded Laboratories and National Semiconductor in the USA, an electronic monitoring product for the telecommunication industry and an electronic device for the motoring industry.

Artec's portable web access device for home or commercial application comprises a handheld tablet and a base station. Weighing about 900 g the device is designed to be comfortable to hold and easy to use. With features like quick start-up, 'instant on' access, and long battery life the lightweight device provides a simple, user-friendly, portable gateway to the Internet.

The Autodesk awards were presented to the companies that were judged to have made the most effective use of CAD technology to promote innovation, design excellence and competitive advantage - for themselves and for South Africa.

Errol Ashwell, managing director of Autodesk Africa, says entrants had to demonstrate that the successful implementation and use of CAD technology has led to at least four of the following: South African innovation, design excellence, competitive advantage, the creation of South African intellectual property value, increased productivity, reduced costs, increased quality and export opportunities for products or services.

Autodesk (Africa)

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