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28th January 2021

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ArtiCAD celebrates 20 years in KBB industry with 20 year old clients

Popular CAD software specialist for the KBB sector, ArtiCAD, is celebrating 20 years in the KBB industry. Founded in 1992 by Richard Turner, an IT entrepreneur from Hull with a special interest in the kitchen retail sector, the company has grown to become a major force in the industry both in the UK and overseas.

Whilst the ArtiCAD-Pro and BathCAD-Pro software has changed dramatically over the years, the company's commitment to product and services innovation has remained at the heart of ArtiCAD's activities over the two decades. And this dedication to innovation and customer service, combined with a wealth of experience in the KBB sector, means that a number of clients from the very earliest days of ArtiCAD remain with the company to this day...

Heart of the Home: With more than 30 years' experience of kitchen fitting, Mike Moran's family owned and run business, Heart of the Home, has been using ArtiCAD-Pro for all its design work for two decades. The company supplies and manufactures state of the art kitchens throughout Surrey. Mike Moran was initially attracted to "the simplicity of use of ArtiCAD-Pro and the ease of access to vast libraries of graphics. Continues Mike: "To this day, ArtiCAD-Pro remains the best CAD system for KBB designers - it is still the easiest and simplest to use and continues to have the best choice of graphics. I have never been able to draw very well but even allowing for that, it would not be feasible to do hand drawings on all our projects. We use ArtiCAD-Pro for everything we do and the customer reaction is always 'great' or 'wow'. Quite simply, we couldn't do our work without ArtiCAD-Pro."

Academy Kitchens: Founded just before ArtiCAD and thus also celebrating more than two decades in the KBB sector, Academy Kitchens, based in Biggin Hill in Kent, is a specialist supplier of high quality kitchens and appliances to the trade and retail with its own bespoke kitchens alongside products from companies such as Commodore, Howdens, Manhattan and Richmond. Says Phil Cutting, managing director at Academy: "When we first opened for business, we used a drawing board for all our plans and designs - and it would take days to produce a single design. Having looked at one or two other CAD systems on the market, we chose ArtiCAD-Pro and have been working with it ever since. Design time was cut from days to just hours and it has become the hub of our business. Everything now runs through ArtiCAD-Pro, including design, costing and accounts. We couldn't do without it."

Premier Kitchens: Premier Kitchens is also celebrating 20 years in the KBB industry - and 20 years of working together with ArtiCAD. Iain and Alison Forsythe, founders of Premier Kitchens, selected ArtiCAD-Pro just a few months after the company started trading and when it was still based in the couple's back bedroom. Company secretary, Alison Forsythe, says: "Although there are more and more CAD systems coming onto the market, we have never been tempted to move away from ArtiCAD. The strength of the relationship we have developed with ArtiCAD over the years is very important to. They have always been extremely helpful and are always there for us - so why change?"

Acorn Kitchens and Bedrooms: Based in Formby, Merseyside, Acorn Kitchens and Bedrooms has been supplying and fitting kitchens since 1987. Founded by Ben Howes and Steve Penter, the company has its roots firmly in the tradition of furniture design and production. Both men were apprentices together in furniture craft, following this by becoming wood machinists and then self-employed kitchen fitters. So armed with a wealth of hands-on experience, the pair started Acorn Kitchens and Bedrooms.

The company now has an extensive showroom and wins all its business by word of mouth, based on its strong local reputation. Although the founders had been used to hand drawing kitchen designs when they were self-employed, the launch of Acorn required a more professional approach. Twenty years ago they chose ArtiCAD-Pro, and Acorn Kitchens continues to use it to this day. According to Ben Howes: "It is fantastic. We couldn't survive without it. Over the years, I have seen the software change and develop a lot. For me, the quality of the 3D graphics really stands out. High gloss kitchens are very popular at the moment and it is excellent and so realistic the way the graphics are able to accurately show the reflections of the kitchen in the doors."

ArtiCAD software, for the design of kitchens, bedrooms, bathrooms and home offices, is a powerful, flexible, fast and easy to learn computer-aided design system. It produces working plans which automatically generate elevations, multiple 3D perspectives, photorealistic impressions, detailed parts lists and costings. A comprehensive kitchen, bedroom, bathroom or study design presentation, including detailed dimensioned plans plus stunning visualisations, can be produced in less than 10 minutes.

Founded in 1992, ArtiCAD Limited has been, and continues to be, solely focused on the development and marketing of innovative, robust CAD software for the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry. The company has more than 6,000 users of ArtiCAD in the UK alone. ArtiCAD is headquartered in the UK, with subsidiary companies in Ireland, North America and South Africa with distribution partners in Australia, New Zealand and Spain.

T: +44 (0) 1923 888101
F: +44 (0) 1923 888096
W: www.articad.cc

14th December 2012