CENTERFOLD

Pfaltzgraff's Network Eases Design Process

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such high quality? The company designs its stoneware by using its own customized network configuration, making the production process easier and more efficient.

Pfaltzgraff has developed a network that extends to all 19 York, Pa., campus buildings so that it can support client/server applications. This network not only facilitates the production of the stoneware, but office tasks and other company functions as well. More than 350 employees, ranging from the chief executive officer to administrative assistants, work on their various projects on this network.

According to Clair Bange, Jr., vice president of information services, "the company network provides the infrastructure to support various business applications." Among these are office automation , client/server systems and cable television, camer a and engineering applications. The Pfaltzgraff systems also enable data transport for various platforms, including legacy systems and mainframe applications. Customers may order Pfaltzgraff products using this legacy systems application, by way of order entry. The company also utilizes this application for inventory control, fulfillment and manufacturing, Bange says.

Plate designs are no longer created by hand drawings of the actual product. Conceptually, the design stems from a sketch, but Pfaltzgraff's computer network takes this process to new heights. Dassault's CAD/CAM CATIA software program and the IBM RS/6000 electronically develop the shape. Designers use a Silicon Graphics workstation to create the plate decoration.

The decoration file is passed across the network and the artwork is then placed onto the shape. To make certain that the design placement is accurate, a transparent shape can be seen on screen. Designers can determine the proper angle for the design. The computer-generated image is then printed out on a color printer or plotter. After this process is completed, workers can then decide how to mold the item.

Pfaltzgraff staff members conduct research via the Internet and Computer Select by using CD-ROM servers connected to two Bay Networks 28115 10/100 Ethernet switches. The Internet e-mail gateway also runs through these switches so that employees can continue to be updated on the latest in the stoneware industry.

Bange says that as the company's needs grow, so will its network. "Within the next six months, we plan to use our LAN network for various imaging projects," he says.