Preactor International, the world’s leading specialist planning and scheduling Software Company, has announced a continuation of its sustained growth with strong sales figures in 2009. More than 100 companies have purchased Preactor this year with Net Revenues showing an 11% increase over 2008 which itself was an exceptional year for the company. These companies include many well known names such as Imperial Tobacco, Abbott Pharmaceuticals, Alstom Transport Services Traincare, Catalent, and Samsung Electronics.

Preactor CEO Mike Novels commented on the results. “We were expecting some slowdown in the demand for our software and services but in fact the opposite has been the case. Those companies that can invest are looking to focus on specific pain points that will help them be more efficient and more competitive and Preactor has benefited from this."

Gregory Quinn, VP of North America adds: “The surge in demand for Preactor since the downturn has been an indication that North American companies looking to be market leaders know that they cannot simply lay back and hope for the best. 2008 was a very good year for Preactor software in this market, and 2009 continues the trend. Comparing 2Q09 license sales with same period last year before the economic downturn, Preactor license sales are up 32%, and activity continues to be strong.”

A recent report by Gartner suggested that global spending on IT would decline by 6% in 2009 but within this software would declined by only 1.6%. Other independent surveys have shown Advanced Planning and Scheduling (APS) to be a key element of many manufacturing companies in becoming more agile, more responsive, and more efficient in dealing with sudden variations in demand. In a downturn market these companies use tools like APS to take advantage and increase their market share.

The fact that Preactor works well with and enables legacy software such as ERP, MES and other enterprise applications helping to connect the back office with production is of key importance here. Not only does it avoid a ‘Rip and Replace’ mentality with its associated high purchase cost and considerable disruption to the business, in many situations it actually help existing IT investment to deliver better performance and therefore a better return. Sectors that are particularly strong include Consumer Packaged Goods, Food & Beverage, Packaging and complex Hi-Tec Equipment.

Mike Novels again.  "More and more IT companies are working with us to combine the strengths of their product with that of Preactor.  We continue to look for opportunities to grow in this way and strengthen our relationship with other companies who have similar markets to ours. It makes sense for them and it makes sense for us.”

This was confirmed by record attendance by Preactor partners at this year’s annual International Partner meeting where more than 100 people coming from 29 countries gathered to build on their success.

Valerie Goulevitch is Director of Marketing.  “The feedback we had from our partners was very encouraging. Many of the emerging markets such as China, Brazil and India are already out of recession and growing again. Even those markets that have been hit hardest in the credit crunch are seeing more projects available, especially multi-nationals with plants located around the world where our global reach gives them the confidence of locally available support.”