GF AgieCharmilles iPad apps to give customers new company and product experience

The new iPad apps are in Apple's App Store from August, with the Group's profile and an introductory video; an invitation to join GF AgieCharmilles at EMO Hannover 2011 and, in the coming weeks, the new GF AgieCharmilles Product Portfolio. "In the hectic, competitive environment in which our customers do business, the iPad – which has more than 90% market share worldwide – is the ideal, interactive communication platform for allowing them to quickly access the timely information they need about GF AgieCharmilles products, application and process expertise, and customer services," said company president Jean-Pierre Wilmes. "Our digital publications application brings us closer to our customers, triggers a unique and interactive experience of the GF AgieCharmilles brand, and gives our customers a richer connection to us." That rich connection means an experience that transcends the boundaries of print publications: embedded videos and slideshows, 360° interactive images, touch gesture support and zooming mode that makes clear the tiniest details, and more. Rolph Lucassen, head of GF AgieCharmilles communications, said the Group's iPad apps are a direct response to customers' information needs: "Our customers are businesses, but those businesses are represented by people who have time and space constraints, a constant barrage of incoming messages and ever present market pressures. Our iPad puts the world of GF AgieCharmilles at their fingertips and allows them to control their own user experience by choosing – with a swipe or tap of the finger – the information they find most useful to their industrial areas, processes and applications." But Mr Lucassen doesn't believe this move spells the end of paper. "We do not foresee printed communication instruments or paper going away in the near future, but, as early adopters of digital publications, we are being proactive and choosing more carefully where and how we invest valuable resources like paper," he explained. "There are instruments for which paper is the right vehicle. On the other hand, digital publications create no waste when they are thrown away, they can be indefinitely archived without consuming much space, and they are always right there with you on your iPad. These powerful advantages give us reason to redefine the ways we communicate with our customers."