The company Meubles Hauth was created in 1972 in Alsace by François Hauth. His passion for wood was passed down to his children, who took over the company in 2002. With a workforce of 15 people, Meubles Hauth manufactures custom-built furniture, kitchens and bathrooms. The company specialises in custom woodworking. It therefore manages to distinguish itself from its competitors by manufacturing specific parts. In addition, the company is increasingly manufacturing furniture for the subcontracting market.

The company acquired TopSolid’Wood in 2005. Modernisation of the installed base of machines to numerically controlled machines in 2001 obliged the company to purchase a CAD/CAM software solution. "The demands of complex machining pushed us towards programmed design" recounts Jean-François Hauth.

Among the key criteria in the selection of the software they would use, 2 essential points for the Meubles Hauth company were:

• Associative software
• A single package for design and programming of numerically controlled machines

The company is now equipped with two TopSolid’Wood workstations for 3D design and two TopSolid’WoodCam workstations for programming of its machining centres. The purchase of the TopSolid’Wood integrated system has opened doors for the French company: "Before TopSolid we were forced to subcontract the programming of certain parts. Now, we can produce all the parts and we have achieved an important position in the market for complex parts – 5-axis, continuous 5-axis, etc." In design, the company has also taken great strides: "Before, we did not design the complete part, so we lost lots of time. With TopSolid’Design we can produce plans and precise dimensioning, which allows us to go faster in production."

The main advantages provided by TopSolid’Wood are:

• Huge time savings – up to 200% and 400% for the manufacture of certain parts.
• The possibility of working in new markets – complex parts, 5-axis, etc.
• The company’s know-how is safeguarded in the libraries that are created

Between 2007 and 2008 the company anticipates increasing the number of TopSolid users from 2 to 3.