Cincom UK Ltd says that it now dominates the manufacturing software market with its Control:Manufacturing product, which is why it has created a separate subsidiary to handle it (CI No 1,376), but it acknowledges that it took 10 years to achieve that position. However, the company believes that manufacturing applications are a fast-growing area, and the investment made in the new Cincom Manufacturing division is justified. It says that much of its success is attributable to the fact that Control:Manufacturing runs centrally on an IBM mainframe, and distributed on VAX machines. Cincom is currently developing software to run under Unix, but Roger Meloy, Cincom Manufacturing’s marketing manager, has some reservations. He says that currently it isn’t suitable for transaction processing, and he also feels that both IBM and DEC have still to make a wholehearted commitment to Unix. Existing users of Cincom:Manufacturing include blue-chips such as ICI’s Pharmaceutical and Agrochemical divisions, Coca Cola Schweppes, Thorn EMI Electronics, and Rockwell International. Cincom has also set up a CIM Alliance Programme to enable it to offer a complete computer integrated manufacturing implementation. Partners in the programme include Bolt Beranek & Newman, Scicon, Burr Brown, Intergraph, Cyborg, Peat Marwick McLintock, Mercier Software, and Systematics.
