To meet these demands, Vermeer relies heavily on Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS® 3D CAD software and the 3DEXPERIENCE® platform, which enables the company to improve collaboration, accelerate design cycles, manage data, and maintain quality while keeping pace with company growth.

Engineering for Performance

The Vermeer product portfolio includes highly complex equipment such as horizontal directional drills, machines that integrate hydraulics, electronics, and control systems into assemblies that can easily exceed 10,000 parts.

Unified Data and Collaboration with 3DEXPERIENCE

With Vermeer’s growth came a surge in product data and design complexity that traditional tools could no longer handle efficiently. Harold Sullivan, Vermeer Director of Product Lifecycle Management, describes how fragmented systems used to foster inefficiency: “We used 53 different tools to manage a project, with 20 different locations for storing information and 25 subprocesses tied to a single activity.” 

Dassault Systèmes 3DEXPERIENCE platform was selected to unify processes and create a single source of truth for engineering and manufacturing data. By moving to a cloud-based system, Vermeer gained scalability and regular updates without the disruption of lengthy software upgrades. “[Upgrading SOLIDWORKS manually] took us about eight months. It required hundreds of man hours to accomplish that upgrade,” recalls Sullivan. “In that same time period, our 3DEXPERIENCE cloud platform was updated three times [automatically] with virtually no effort on our part.”

Beyond efficiency, 3DEXPERIENCE provided a framework for organizational discipline. Engineers now work under defined product-change controls, parts classification systems, and configuration management rules. Instead of creating duplicate parts, engineers can search attributes like fan size, blade count, or hub orientation to quickly find what they need. The result is fewer redundant parts, lower inventory costs, and more consistent designs across product lines.

By implementing 3DEXPERIENCE product lifecycle management, Vermeer established a foundation for global collaboration and standardized data management and enabled long-term scalability, all while keeping SOLIDWORKS at the core of its design process.

Designing Amid Myriad Challenges

Large-equipment operators often work long hours in high-stakes environments. A design tweak that reduces fatigue or improves visibility may save lives. Therefore, modern cabs are pressurized and climate-controlled for dust and noise reduction. They also have ergonomic seats, clear sightlines, and low-effort controls to reduce operator fatigue and help keep crews alert through long shifts. Logistics constraints further demand that many big machines are created with modular designs that disassemble into shippable sections for legal road transport and fast reassembly on site. 

Vermeer Senior Machine Tool Engineer Scott Riddle noted that his team depends on key SOLIDWORKS features such as structural analysis and multi-configuration modeling to optimize designs. “We must maintain a certain max weight while considering weight distribution on the semi-trailer versus the tires,” he explains. Meeting shipping limits is never a nice-to-have with large machinery. Using SOLIDWORKS, the team precisely adjusts the machine’s center of gravity during the design phase to meet these constraints.

To avoid million-dollar mistakes, companies like Vermeer leverage advanced simulation and digital twin technology in designing large machinery. Long before a physical prototype is built, engineers create virtual models of the equipment they subject to simulated stress, loads, and usage scenarios. Catching a potential design flaw early in the digital phase can save enormous costs, as issues found during the concept/design phase in simulation are far cheaper to fix than problems discovered after manufacturing.

Effectively Managing Growth

Vermeer’s integration of SOLIDWORKS and its supporting platforms has delivered measurable results. Design cycles are faster thanks to parametric modeling and the ability to reuse components across multiple projects. Automated workflows now drive design reviews and engineering change management, which reduces errors and saves time. 

Communication among engineering, manufacturing, and technical writing teams has improved, ensuring alignment throughout the product lifecycle. The company has also developed greater organizational discipline in managing product data, processes, and lifecycle management with 3DEXPERIENCE, which has created a more efficient and reliable development environment.

“We wanted a platform that worked on the cloud, then we wanted to be able to integrate different business units and be able to replicate those processes globally. The 3DEXPERIENCE platform provided the functionality we needed to grow as a company and to continue to be more efficient,” enthuses Johnson.

For Vermeer, SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform are not simply product development tools, but the backbone of a broader digital transformation. They enable engineers to focus on solving real-world problems while having the ability to scale with the company’s growth ambitions.

Mark Cooper, VP of Product Quality and Reliability, emphasized that as Vermeer scaled, SOLIDWORKS enabled the team to work more efficiently while meeting growing design and performance demands. He concludes: “When I started, Vermeer was significantly smaller. SOLIDWORKS grew with us, giving us the tools to deliver what our customers and internal teams needed. It’s one of the key reasons we were able to take our next steps forward.”