More and more facade manufacturers decide to switch to 3D CAD software or to add a 3D CAD programme to their existing software package. This includes facade manufacturers ‘Wijmoco’, ‘Thermo Konstrukties’ and ‘Van Hoesel’. Ruud Baelemans (operational director Van Hoesel): "Our clients are all very impressed with the quality of the 3D models."
Van Hoesel, or ‘Van Hoesel Aluminium kozijnen B.V.’ in full, has been a major player in facade industry for more than 50 years. The company from Goirle in the Netherlands, specialises, among other things, in the design and production of complex curtain walls. In order to meet the demand of clients to work with BIM, the company switched to HiCAD at the end of 2020 after an intensive pilot project.
Six months after they have gone live with the software, operational director Ruud Baelemans is still enthusiastic. "It is always a matter of anticipation when working with new software, but I have to conclude that HiCAD really adds value," says Baelemans.
One of the main reasons for Van Hoesel to choose HiCAD was the bi-directional connection with LogiKal. "First, we had to make all the changes in two different systems, but now we don't have to. Now it's one button and everything is adjusted automatically. That saves us a lot of double work."
In addition, Baelemans is very pleased with the flexibility of the software and the service provided by ISD Group. "We can use the software in our way. That makes it possible to adjust the software perfectly to our organisation and people. "
And, perhaps most importantly, Van Hoesel's clients are also enthusiastic about HiCAD's output. Baelemans: "Our clients are all very impressed with the quality of the 3D models.” A nicer compliment is actually not conceivable.
Before Ruud Baelemans started working with HiCAD, he talked to several colleague companies about their experiences with HiCAD. One of them was Ramon Koenen, Technical Director at Thermo Konstrukties in Cuijk, The Netherlands. Thermo Konstrukties started working with HiCAD six months before Van Hoesel, to the great enthusiasm of Koenen and his team.
Like Van Hoesel, Thermo Konstrukties was looking for a 3D CAD system with a connection to LogiKal. Koenen: "We had the choice of three programmes: ATHENA, Revit and HiCAD. HiCAD was chosen because the integration with HICAD worked best and helps us to save a lot of duplicate work.
One of the first projects in which Thermo Konstrukties used HiCAD was a new office building for Vanderlande in Veghel, The Netherlands. Koenen: "The assignment required working with BIM. We were faced with the choice of outsourcing the engineering work or to do this ourselves. We then opted for the second.
Modelling with ISD Group’s 3D CAD system actually went well from the start, says Koenen, but the data exchange with the contractor was a bit more difficult at first. With the help of the ISD employees, it all worked out in time and to the client's satisfaction. Koenen: "ISD immediately proved itself to be a partner and showed that we are not just a number to them.
Koenen says he is 'super enthusiastic' about the software and expects to get even more out of it in the future. "The software is constantly evolving and new improvements are added all the time."
Wijmoco Geveltechniek switched to HiCAD at the beginning of 2021. The Huissen-based company had been working with 3D CAD software in BIM for some time, but it lacked a good connection with LogiKal and other features to control production.
"The software we used previously did have a connection to LogiKal, but not as easy as HiCAD," says Igor Keijzers (Head of Business Office). "The translation from model to production had to be done manually. That took a lot of time and caused errors. Now we don't have to do that anymore.
In addition to the connection with LogiKal, Keijzers is also pleased with the rest of the system. he explains enthusiastically. "Production drawings, assembly drawings, order lists. "Practically everything is in there. In addition to comfort and convenience, it also saves a lot of time."
Despite the fact that Wijmoco has only recently started working in HiCAD, Igor is very satisfied with the software. After a number of smaller projects, HiCAD is now also being used for the construction of a luxury apartment complex in the centre of Amsterdam: ‘Briljant aan de Amstel’. Keijzers: "It is still exciting how the production is going, but I have all the confidence that it will be fine.”
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Would you like to read more references from HiCAD users? Then visit our reference page. Or do you want to know which factors to take into account when choosing CAD software? Then read our blog "What does CAD software really cost?"