The following contains a number of case studies submitted by Okino software customers. They detail how Okinos PolyTrans & NuGraf software act as vital links in their production pipelines, namely for moving 3D data from one application to another with optional intermediate data optimization and rendering. The majority of the case studies on this page are from customers who are moving data from the Pro/Engineer solid modeling package (by PTC) into other 3d animation packages via Okinos PolyTrans software, or into Okinos NuGraf software for texturing and rendering. Pro/E customers dominate these case studies because they were culled from a list of user submitted data for a Pro/E magazine article written by Robert Lansdale of Okino. In reality, Okinos customers use many more CAD packages other than just Pro/E, with popular data packages being CATIA, Unigraphics, AutoCAD, Autodesk Inventor, SolidWorks, Solid Edge, SDRC, Microstation, CADKEY, Rhino-3D and many others; all of these are supported by such file formats as IGES, ACIS SAT, Parasolids, native Pro/E, SLP, STEP, VDA-FS, Inventor, DXF/DWG, native Rhino-3D and more in Okino software.
Brooks Stevens Design Assoc. David H. Roland. ProE to Okinos NuGraf For Rendering
Brooks Stevens Design is a multi-disciplinary product development firm committed to creating great commercial products for our clients and ourselves. Pro/E is the primary engineering modeling and documentation package used at Brooks Stevens. All along the process, from initial concept development through final engineering, we need to develop images that communicate a designs status and configuration to clients, vendors, researchers, and ourselves. Its not enough to create shaded isometric views. We find it extremely valuable, when possible, to create images that look REAL and convey the detail, accuracy, and excitement that we bring to products in our design process. At times, we also create images for sales and marketing purposes; images of the designs which must look very realistic (even photographic), but have not yet been produced. These are the reasons Okinos NuGraf has been a valuable asset to us. Yes, there are other packages that produce some great images, but nothing Ive seen works as well with Pro/E in terms of simplicity, consistency, and speed to get to those realistic images we are looking for.
Weve been using NuGraf for about 3 years now, Pro/E for more than 10. NuGraf proved to be an excellent choice for generating great images of our designs created in Pro/E. It proved to be so easy to use we lost the manual early on and didnt even bother to find it. Go figure. We have other very robust rendering packages in house, but NuGraf proves to be the fastest and easiest renderer to use in conjunction with Pro/E. I cant say enough about how much faster it is. As an example, we did a rendering test about 2 years ago, comparing NuGraf (Pro/E files via.slp files) with a renderer in one of our surface packages (Pro/E files via.igs). The difference was (4 hours for the surface package) vs. (15 minutes for NuGraf) - all variables being kept as close as possible. Thats a big difference when you have 24 hours to crank out a full presentation for a client.
Credits: Middle two images, Flow International Corporation (Kent, WA) and Brooks Stevens Design (Grafton, WI), David Roland (designer) and Scott Klos (engineer). Image of Flow Internationals Waterjet Machining Center (WMC) which can be viewed on their WEB site. Right most image: Briggs & Stratton ELS500 Engine cover; Design by Brooks Stevens Design.
CraneDigital. John B. Crane. CAD (Unigraphics via IGES) to Lightwave Translations & Optimizations
My name is John B. Crane and I run CraneDigital, a 3D illustration and animation studio in Fort Collins, Colorado. I specialize in 3D scientific/technical illustration and animation. I discovered Okinos PolyTrans during a project in early 2001. A marketing firm contacted me with an engineering client who had just developed a new tabletop spectrometer. The story was familiar: the engineers had spent 4 years developing and designing this new tool (in Unigraphics) and on the virtual eve of production release, the one-offs and prototypes were of little to no use to the marketing people. Their precious new machine lay trapped in the technically intimidating world of Unigraphics Open GL Previews. They needed pre-sales tools and a way of explaining how their device worked across a variety of deliverables.
After a few exploratory calls I learned of PolyTrans and wrote for more information. After the initial purchase of PolyTrans with the IGES I/O module, Robert Lansdale worked closely with me developing a custom solution for the specific task that lie ahead. There were a few kinks to work out in the new UG IGES export module and after sending Robert a few samples he began tweaking his IGES module to pick up as much as possible, then sent the update over the web. One of the main challenges with this project was defining polygonal meshes from the UG/IGES trim curves. Control over tessellation settings was important as was smoothing and control over the normals, but more importantly I needed control over specific grouped surfaces. In other cases, an IGES export can generate hopelessly confusing meshes with millions of individual polygons the designer would then need to (impossibly) pick through and stitch back together. The goal was to achieve a high-fidelity model that could still be rendered and animated in LightWave. PolyTrans was indispensable. After trying a direct IGES import through two other leading applications, PolyTrans produced the highest-quality results with the most control over surfacing, smoothness, and tessellation. Without PolyTrans I would not have been able to meet the tight timeline. Since this initial project Ive used PolyTrans (with the IGES I/O Module) for countless projects, moving seamlessly between 3ds max and LightWave. PolyTrans handles Pro/E files extremely well, as evidenced by the project shown for Waterpik. Why move between applications? Sometimes its as simple as a slightly different look a client is after. Sometimes its more complicated, like creating a motion, object or affect more easily in one application than another. Sometimes a client will already have 3ds max files and want that to be the starting point. With PolyTrans, moving between different worlds is a reliable, promisable task. Without it my life would be far more difficult.

Kral GMBH (Austria). Andreja Balon Kral. ProE (CAD) to Maya Translations & Optimizations.
We bought PolyTrans to convert Pro/E data into Alias Maya. We have been making computer animations since 1992. We began with Alias and now we have Maya. We have a customer Bonardier-ROTAX GmbH in Austria, who are making motor engines for SkiDoo, Sea-Doo, ATV, Light Airplanes, Kart and Motorcycles (Aprilia and BMW). They developed a completely new engine generation named 4-TEC. They have constructed it in Pro/E. For marketing presentation of this new engine they wanted to show their customers the high-tech of this engine. We exported the engine data from Pro/E via large IGES files. However, we had a problem: the IGES data was really really big! Maya could read small IGES parts but it could not import big parts (100MB with thousand of parts); Maya just hung up. So we performed the conversion with PolyTrans. It worked very well and fast. In meantime we also use VRML data format, especially for parts, that are not so important. The Bombardier-ROTAX company uses VRML data for their preview discussions. Thanks to the PolyTrans VRML importer we are able to read this data, too and they are much smaller.
Reyer Corp. Don Lynch. SDRC & Lightwave to Okinos NuGraf For Rendering.
Over the past 13 years Reyer Corporation has provided engineering design services for private industry as well as US government laboratories, such as Naval Research Lab, National Institute of Standards and Technology and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. We have focused mainly on scientific instruments and use 3D CAD modeling on a daily basis. Just recently we were contracted to do a really exciting project. The US government wanted to explore the possibility of restoring an old hotel while adding a new building to it. Our job was to recreate the hotel and lobby with its fantastic columns and provide a walk-through.
We obtained old black and white photos of the hotel faade and lobby from the local historical society and worked under the direction of an architect for the new building concept. Everything, except for the Mercedes, was modeled in SDRCs Master Series 3D CAD software and Lightwave3D. The final model was exported to Okinos NuGraf. NuGraf is a package we have been using for several years and for which Okino has provided personal support and updates to us directly. We imported the data via IGES and Lightwave objects, and ended up with a 950,000 polygon count model of the interior and 1,200,000 polygon count of the exterior

scene. NuGraf rendered the images in a short time. The models use about 100 texture maps, 30 light sources for the interior and 6 lights for the exterior and took from 4 to 8 minutes to render on a 1.3Ghz machine depending on the view. We would like to thank DeEspona Infografica for the fantastic Mercedes model.
Industrial 3D. Beau Brown. SolidWorks (CAD) to 3DS MAX Translations & Optimizations.
Beau Brown of Industrial 3D (industrial design visualization) was one of the first Okino users to obtain and put to full use our new XGL import converter. Beau was provided a large 3D dataset of an oil drilling rig created in SolidWorks (as a solids model) and wanted to render it in 3ds max (as an optimized mesh model). Beau used Okinos totally unique SolidWorks to 3ds max conversion pipeline to perform this job quickly and with little user involvement. He is quoted as saying The XGL model was well over 200 megs and it only took PolyTrans about 5 minutes to open and convert. It turned out great and worked beautifully. The oil ring consisted of 5700 different parts and 1,908,464 polygons. The final rendering consisted of 75% data from SolidWorks and 25% created in 3ds max. The 7500x7500 pixel image took 9 hours to render in 3ds max. The final poster was used in Oil and Gas Journal, a Pennwell magazine. The models and technical instructions were provided by Rowan Companies, Inc.
Credits: Copyright Oil & Gas Journal, PennWell Publishing and by Beau Brown, Industrial 3D. Used by permission. Models and technical instruction provided by Rowan Companies, Inc.
Thomas-Bradley Illustration & Design. Will Coats. ProE (CAD) to 3DS MAX Translations & Optimizations.
Thomas-Bradley Illustration & Design is a full service illustration and design studio specializing in photoreal illustration and animation, usually of the technical nature. The central Illinois based firm began in the mid 80s creating hand painted airbrush illustrations. It was decided in 1988 to explore the potential of computers as a new creative tool, the rest, as they say, is history. About a year ago, staff artist, Will Coats, began using PolyTrans in their production pipeline to import and optimize Pro/E geometry data over to 3ds max for final rendering and animation. The resulting images speak for themselves.
Genexis Design, Inc. ProE to Okinos NuGraf For Rendering.
We started using Okinos NuGraf software in 1996. At that time we researched available rendering software packages and found out that only NuGraf can handle conversion and consecutive rendering with all the flexibility we needed. Even after PTC introduced Pro/Photorenderer we continued using PolyTrans and NuGraf for complex scenes that would put too much pressure on resources if a CAD package would be used for rendering. Also we have found a tremendous support from Okino on NuGrafs side with any problems we have faced as, novice users of a rendering software.

IDE, Inc. ProE to Okinos NuGraf For Rendering.
IDE is a multi-disciplined product design and development firm serving technology based companies worldwide since 1985. IDE provides a unique blend of industrial design, mechanical design and engineering, and unmatched prototyping skills to create
products that look great, are easy to use, and cost effective to manufacture. Though many of our designs have won international awards, our focus is to provide our customers with a solution that meets or exceeds their project goals. IDE provides its clients an experienced team of industrial designers, mechanical design engineers, and a fully equipped rapid prototyping facility all under one roof. The IDE production pipeline: IDE use a combination of solid modeling software from PTC (Pro Engineer) and Robert McNeels Associates NURBS surfacing software, Rhinoceros. Okinos NuGraf is used for final presentation imagery. If the final surfaces are very complex then it is exported as an IGES file for refinement in Rhino. In Rhino the surfaces are interactively tessellated to insure design intent and high image quality in the final rendered images. Product graphics are applied in NuGraf or using Adobe Photoshop. NuGraf is used for visualization purposes in presentations and often supports 2D image manipulation tools in the creative process.
Image descriptions, from left to right, and top to bottom: Silicon Film A digital film cartridge that allows some existing, non-digital, SLR cameras to take pure digital images. It is a modular system comprised of 3 components. Created concurrently in both Rhinoceros and Pro-e, then rendered in NuGraf for presentation to the client before display models, color studies and prototypes were developed. Colorado Micro Display IDE developed a prototype for technology presentation. A Pro-E solid model was exported as an IGES file which was interactively tessellated in Rhino. A mesh was imported from Poser. The head was scaled to fit the Pro-E Solid model. The image was rendered in NuGraf. Anritsu Synthesized CW Generator MG3690A An RF & Microwave signal synthesizer. The exterior surfaces were all modeled in Rhino. These surfaces were rendered in NuGraf. IDE used a combination of Adobe Illustrator & Rhino to develop the interface and bezel graphics/markings. When the final concept was selected the surfaces were exported from Rhino and then imported into Pro-E for mechanical design. Okino Camera The camera model was created by Deam Amir Depay (of IDE Inc.) using AutoCADs solid modeling capabilities. It is the first model that was rendered via use of Okinos ACIS SAT geometry import converter. The turn-around time from import to final rendering was about 40mins, most of which was consumed in deciding what materials and what colors to assign to the object. The actual ray traced rendering took 2mins to complete. PDA Concept Rendering The PDA model was created by Deam Amir Depay (of IDE Inc.) using AutoCADs solid modeling capabilities. It was then exported to NuGraf as an ACIS SAT model and triangulated. An interesting variety of textures, bump maps and lighting give an overall soft look to this image. Creative Labs Nomad Jukebox A digital music jukebox holding up to 150 CDs of music. Created concurrently in both Rhinoceros and Pro-e, then rendered in NuGraf for presentation to the client before display models, color studies and prototypes were developed. Ziatech Computer Server The Ziatech server bezels were created using two programs. The Industrial designed exterior surfaces were created using the NURBS surface modeler Rhino and the mechanical design was created with Pro/E. The rendering was created with Okinos NuGraf. The image uses 8 different texture maps and 3 light sources.

Motorola PCS. Tim Sutherland (Product Developer). ProE to Okinos NuGraf For Rendering.
I work in the Industrial Design department at Motorola. My role here is to obtain a preliminary set of internal components from the engineering development group and provide all of the external surfaces of the design. I return a set of external surfaces and thinwalled parts to the engineering group and they add all of the internal geometry (snaps, bosses, etc.). Whats shown here is the final design after a year and a half of development.
The model was created in ProE then imported into Okinos NuGraf software, via IGES, for final rendering. The clean conversion of trimmed NURBS (in IGES) to polygon data via Okinos IGES importer makes it easy to render large production files, complete with all of the internal detail, for otherwise raw NURBS would be far too heavy. The graphics are mapped on with a technique I use that combines Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
Guidant Corporation. Robbie Halvorson (Senior Designer/Animator). ProE (CAD) to Maya & Studio.
I am a designer that has used Okinos NuGraf to translate models from ProE to Maya and Alias Studio for rendering. I have done this for about 4 years with great results. By using the Pro/E SLP render file format and the batch translator in NuGraf, I can quickly bring multiple parts into Maya (now my main animation and rendering tool). In fact one of these translations led to us being nominated for a Pro/E award in medical products. My reasons for exporting out of Pro/E were that this device had parts that showed refraction and I also needed better control of surface detail. Alias has ray tracing and finer control of things like specular highlights and texture mapping. Id say the key points for moving out of Pro/E are: better control of shaders, lights, cameras, etc. Raytracing for transparent parts. Simpler user interfaces. Pro/E does I fine job of handling surface shading and creating basic animation for use in an engineering environment but for higher quality, hyper-realistic presentations, the parts need to be exported to a true rendering and/or animation software. Its like the difference between carpenters tools and watch makers tools.
Parker Hannifin AB. Anders Karlsson (Project Leader). ProE (CAD) to trueSpace Translations & Optimizations.
We developed a new product under the project name Niagara that was released about a year ago. This was our first project when we used 3D-images instead of photos for promotion material. The product was modeled in Pro/E, exported thru PolyTrans and finally rendered in TrueSpace. Pro/E modeling was made by myself and a colleague, Peter Fredh. The final rendering was made by Lars Magnusson at Rand Worldwide. The reason for not using Photorender in Pro/E was mainly the interface, very difficult to get the quality and layout of the images as we wanted and a very limited texture library (not easy to create textures as well) for example. The result of the project was a very competitive product and the rendered material has been published in several articles and papers (mainly hydraulic literature) as well as our own promotion material.

Cirring Interactive Inc. David Lennox. ProE (CAD) to Lightwave Translations & Optimizations.
These images are from a multimedia presentation created for an elevator company. We were asked to create an animation of one their elevator products in operation. We were given STL and IGES object files generated in ProE, and created an animation from these files in Lightwave. Conversion from STL and IGES to Lightwave, including scene & hierarchy optimization, was done with NuGraf.
Neptune Media. Steven Gutierrez. ProE (CAD) to 3DS MAX Translations & Optimizations.
When we looked for availability on Pro/E model-translators, we found PolyTrans to be the best buy. But what really convinced us was the trial demo, and how PolyTrans translated a Pro/E model into a 3DS model within seconds. (I actually did not even read the tutorial.) I was amazed at how exact the models matched. Even when I bring in an AutoCAD DXF model into 3ds max there is always a little tweaking, and AutoCAD and 3ds max are specifically meant to work with each other. The steps are really as easy as open the Pro/E file, and export as a 3DS file, or you can just use the plugin that comes with the program and import the Pro/E file directly in 3ds max We could not use Pro/E alone to render the product due to the final desired product. We needed to have the trucks payload (a Pro/E model) being carried by a hi-tech looking truck. In addition, we needed HUM-Vs, landscapes, special effects, and other props. This was a DVD design project and it needed to look artistic. We modeled the truck in a 3D modeling and animation program geared towards creating professional looking video, and imported the Pro-E model using PolyTrans. This saved many manhours and money by saving the time necessary to fix or remodel the payload in the animation program. When there was a truck payload redesign, the animator did not have to edit the model or animation at all. We just used PolyTrans again, and swapped in the updated model and that was it. The final product had the details and hi-tech look of the actual Pro/E model blended with the artistic production of visual special effects, which is exactly what the client was aiming for.

Pegasus Design, Inc. Steve Calderon. ProE (CAD) to 3DS Translations & Optimizations.
Pegasus Design specializes in opto-mechanical tooling design and technical animation for the semiconductor, medical and optical industries. We designed this optical inspection machine for Tinsley Labs in Richmond, CA using ProEngineer CAD software. Tinsley is famous for making the corrector optics for the Hubble Space Telescope. The berylium, aspheric, 35" diameter satellite mirror shown here is the primary mirror for the NASA Space Infrared Telescope Facility, (SIRTF). The mirror is valued at about two million dollars. We used PolyTrans to convert the files to 3DS format. We added the floor, walls and ceiling. We stuck a panel outside the window and mapped it with a digital photo of our parking lot.
3ds max is a registered trademark of Discreet. Lightwave is a registered trademark of Newtek, Inc. trueSpace is a registered trademark of Caligari Corporation. Pro/E, ProE and Pro/PhotoRenderer are registered trademarks of PTC. Maya is a registered trademark of Alias Inc. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. All images are copyright by the company named in the title where the images are shown, unless otherwise explicitly noted. Certain names, logos, designs, titles, words or phrases on any page in this document may constitute trademarks, servicemarks, or tradenames of Okino Computer Graphics, Inc. or other entities which may be registered in certain jurisdictions. NuGraf and PolyTrans are registered trademarks of Okino Computer Graphics, Inc.

NEUMANNPARTNERS

EXCELLENCE IN EXECUTIVE SEARCH

Dialogue

Renewable energies Motor for economic growth or victim of the financial crisis?

Article

A globally valid competence model

Interview

Consultation in restructuring processes Only superior quality support brings international clients to Germany

True Faces

NEUMANNPARTNERS NEWS

Editiorial

Dear reader,
There is one field which is suited for cost-savings more than any other: Human Resources Development. Unfortunately, the current strategy in many companies is to put everything they have into one basket: marketing. After all, thats where one can expect quick and visible success. To invest in the quality of personnel to invest in the future, that is means to make an anti-cyclical engagement. And who is doing that nowadays? Prevent a shipwreck If you compare a company to a ship, it depends a lot on where the vessel happens to be at the moment: the ideal objective, a predictive Human Resources Development, would seem like a brilliant return to Southampton in the present economic situation. Captain, crew, ship and cargo are all in the very best shape. If you stick with this image, right now the ship is not in safe Southampton at all, but somewhere out in the uncomfortable waters around Cape Horn. The dangerous currents and wild storms and giant waves correspond to our present economic conditions. At the same time, everyone realises that such heavy waters can only be safely navigated by top-notch captains and officers; anything second-rate would presumably result in plenty of unpleasant surprises for everyone on board. Investments in a first-class management should definitely not be considered anti-cyclical measures. Especially not if one finds oneself in turbulent seas. Every company not actually condemned to an absolute job freeze is aware of this and will keep its management team lean and competent. But especially it will make sure all the jobs that ensure the ship doesnt run aground and dump everyone in cold water are occupied by the best people available. In real life only persuasive work helps Since in real life, such positions are concerned with quality and not quantity, the Executive Search Consultant is in demand here. After all, first-class managers are difficult to locate and even more difficult to convince. But this is exactly where we are the specialists. There is no other way to find top people. They are in the second and third tier of power and thus their potential hasnt yet been discovered. This is the reason why we developed Neumann Management Colloquium which differs considerably from conventional audit products:
Human Resources Development is top management priority especially in economically challenging times.
it measures not only professional competencies, but also reveals the strengths and weaknesses of the individual personality in question. With Neumann Management Colloquium you make your ship largely unsinkable, and you know to whom you have entrusted its safe course. This should be taken very seriously into consideration before one sets out for Cape Horn.

Dr. Helmut Neumann Chairman/Founder Dr. Hans Jorda CEO NEUMANN LEADERSHIP GROUP
A successful team: Dr. Helmut Neumann (left) and Dr. Hans Jorda

Photo: fotolia.de

Dialogue I

Renewable Energies

Motor for economic growth or victim of the financial crisis?
Currently the share of solar energy in all electricity generated in Germany amounts to 0.8 per cent. By 2015 that figure is expected to rise to all of two per cent.
Martin Meurer has known the environmental and energy industry for many years. His first industrial experience after working at the Deutsche Bank AG led him to B.U.S. AG in 1997, an internationally listed company for environmental and raw material services, one of the first environmental stocks at the time. He last worked as the successful CFO of VERBIO Vereinigte BioEnergie AG, to whom he currently provides consulting services as partner of SMB Consultants GmbH. VERBIO AG is one of the leading European large industrial producers of biofuels, in the future, of biogas as well. For this issue of True Faces, he responded to questions posed by Annette Bhm, partner at NeumannPartners. NeumannPartners: You have known the market for environmental technologies and regenerative energies since the mid-90s. Has a lot changed in this sector since then? Martin Meurer: Yes, great advances have been made. The topic of environmental protection has not only gained in general acceptance, in the meantime it is also an important economic driver. The markets have become more dynamic. And especially political policy is showing a great desire for implementing environmental measures, the world over. Apart from state subsidies, such as the approximately 30 billion dollars in the American stimulus package or the 16 billion dollars provided by the Japanese government, this also leads to
Development, it was decided to anchor the subject of climate change within the educational system. I consider this to be an essential step which has been omitted up to now in our general economic education. NeumannPartners: But political policies are currently struggling to save banks and automotive companies arent the concerns of the environment left out in the cold? Martin Meurer: No, the opposite is the case. The current situation exposes a moral and ethical crisis of purpose, uncovers professional deficits in the financial system and reveals a clear political failure respecting the organisational framework, understanding, and control of the financial system. The topic of renewable energies and the protection of natural resources is the ideal counterpoint to this failure. Ecology and economy can no longer be separated, as the above programs show. Take for instance the automotive industry. Staggering changes are taking place in this sector. Right now the business models are being totally rewritten, with significant consequences for the value-added process chain, apart from adjustment of overcapacities, for instance with the electric drive. NeumannPartners: Do the political and economic conditions and restraints suffice in order to position Germany as an attractive location for renewable energies?

Martin Meurer, CFO and consultant of VERBIO Vereinigte Bio-Energie AG and Annette Bhm, partner at NeumannPartners.
increasingly more private capital being invested in renewable energies. The great diversity of technologies and products has multiplied enormously. Environmental topics are now accepted as an important economic factor, but are also being sought as feel-good factor for improving the quality of life and the wellness world. And in Abu Dhabi the vision of establishing a CO2-free city has become a reality. In addition, there are geostrategic considerations as well as the uncertainty about the quantity of actual natural reserves which make oil seem too valuable to simply burn. The reduction of dependency on oil (and on the oilproducing states) is the declared political goal, entirely independent of the economy or local trends. Against this background it is absolutely correct to promote sustainability as a purpose and idea. At the world UN conference held in Bonn, ESD Education for Sustainable
added process will promote global competition for the highest CO2 reduction in fuels. This will prevent imports based on cleared virgin forests as well as brown coal as energy source in production. NeumannPartners: Is the environmental industry a long-term job engine? Martin Meurer: A study sponsored by the German federal government concluded that about 1.5 million Germans are professionally familiar with the topic of environmental protection. In 2007 over 280,000 people were employed alone in renewable energies sector. With an increasing the share of economic performance world-wide, employment in other industries will also be secured and generated. Due to future technological innovations and an increase in capital, I do not expect a disproportionately large employment effect in the industry itself, however. NeumannPartners: What is your personal forecast? Martin Meurer: I am absolutely optimistic. I am thoroughly convinced that we will establish and expand a sustainable market with the right products and services which will ensure our existence and contribute to our quality of life. In this connection it will be decisive how ambitious the proclaimed targets turn out to be for the protocol that is to follow Kyoto in December in Copenhagen. This will also depend on how the regulatory and incentive systems state-supported, entrepreneurial and private are initiated, co-ordinated, and implemented.
In Europe, biofuel producers are not competitors of the food industry.
Martin Meurer: First of all, politics in Germany makes up a decisive share of the success. The mid-term goal must be, however, that the state gradually withdraws its involvement. When the economic dynamic of the private sector takes hold, then this will be the confirmation of Germany as attractive location. Reliable, stable domestic conditions are the prerequisite for industrial and private investments. A great deal could be done here, such as for instance an environmental code cast from one mould. Independently of this, Germany also has a limit of natural resources in renewable energies. In the example of solar energy, for instance, its clear that there are regions with considerably more frequent and more intensive sun radiation than others. Currently, the share of solar energy makes up 0.8 percent of generated electricity. We expect two percent for 2015. Slowly solar energy is approaching network parity. This means that solar electricity is only inappreciably more expensive than conventionally produced energy. The further development of solar power plants, solar accumulators and corresponding networks thus make good economic sense for Germany, then this way we remain a know-how carrier and internationally competitive. NeumannPartners: What energy mix do you currently think would be sensible from an environmental protection point of view?

Martin Meurer: Three factors play a major role in influencing the energy mix. Global energy consumption is continuing to rise, another 60 percent according to the most recent study by the Shell Corporation. At the same time fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas have covered the dominating portion of energy consumption and have to be reduced. The amount of CO2 in the air has to be lowered by 50 percent. This will lead to an energy mix which must satisfy the objectives of supply security with the best possible CO2 reduction at economic prices measured against certain milestones. We must be able to objectively discuss the exploitation of different energy sources, free of taboos and ideologies. NeumannPartners: What do you say to the catch phrase Food versus Fuel? Will the use of biofuels eventually lead to world hunger? Martin Meurer: If some 30 percent of the corn harvest in the United States goes into the production of bioethanol, then of course that is a clear indication of food competition. But is this the case for all agricultural raw materials in all regions around the world? No, clearly not! The biofuel producers in Europe do not compete with the food industry, neither in volume nor in their utilisation mix. A respective intensification of the entire value-
CO2-free city Abu Dhabi a vision becomes reality.
Once started, competence models have an important orientation function. Especially when they are set up as a comprehensive reference framework for the entire company, i.e. with a claim of validity for different functions (of also culturally diverse) different regions. The orientation function of such a competence model will be all the more binding the more it reflects the value system of a company and the self-perception of successful work and cooperation.1 model of Bartlett and Ghoshal and requires people who can think both globally and locally.2 Exactly such transnational managers are the rare prize one has to find, acquire, and especially with whom one must forge long-term bonds. If a company succeeds in doing this, then it has a real chance of true global growth and of developing its employees without spatial restrictions. The Competence Center manager of a large American company which is following this path says: Even though it's hard now and the recruitment process is long and stony, I'm sure that we will have success in the long term. The introduction and strict application of a globally valid competence model in the hiring process is a difficult and highly complex undertaking in times of rapid economic change with continued great differences in individual regions. Its success requires disciplined

Thomas Wilde, partner and head of the Competence Center Times at Neumann Partners.
The introduction and particularly the exact compliance with a binding competence model is a real limiting factor, especially in international recruiting. It provides a clear aid for selecting candidates, but also leads to strongly reducing the number of considered candidates, especially in cultural circles where the cited values are not in such high standing. An example of this would be competencies such as managerial behaviour, assertiveness, or setting the right priorities. These are all aspects held in high esteem in Western models of good management, but which are subject to entirely different assessments in Eastern countries or in Asia.
One can meet this problem in two ways. Either one remembers the old worldly wisdom of When in Rome, do as the Romans do, meaning nothing more or less than adapting to the regional conditions and respectively broadening the competence model to match. Or one sticks with one global point of view and acquiesces to the The search for transnational managers is a difficult task. disadvantages of such difficulties in the hope of overall advantages. Which of these paths a company chooses to preparation, clear project coordination, and a high degree of transtake depends largely on their underlying strategy. If you are looking parency. When a company starts out on such a difficult path, it needs for quick access to the markets and have short-term results in mind, a patience and a long-term point of view. In exchange it has very good good deal speaks for the first method of local adaptation. But if you chances of being able to operate with sustainable success on the are pursuing longer-term objectives and primarily want to keep all candidate market and offer solid and exciting career opportunities possibilities open for the development of manager functions across to the real high potentials. A good basis for waging the war for country and cultural borders, then you will have to adhere to broader talents. overlapping values and competencies. Fiona Moore writes in her article on Recruitment and selection of international managers: A centrally organised multinational corporation will generally want employees with a strong Head Office focus who are in the position to transfer know-ledge and maintain control over the branch offices and sub1) sidiaries. A decentrally structured company will prefer managers who Anja Peitz, Rolf Pfeiffer (editors): Personalauswahl International Suche, Auswahl, think entrepreneurially, are flexible and able to make important decisions Integration. Symposion Publishing 2002, p. 56 2) on their own. More globally oriented firms look for managerial personTony Edwards & Chris Rees: International Human Resource Management nel who can integrate well and act as a kind of bridge between Globalization, National Systems and Multinational Companies. Pitman Publishing 2006, p. 198 different markets; this approach comes very close to the transnational

Consultation in Restructuring Processes
Only superior quality support brings international clients to Germany
NeumannPartners: Your law firm is concerned in part with providing consultation for clients involved in restructuring processes. Are you profiting from the current economic situation? Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert: GRG has its traditional roots in the restructuring business. Our law office has always been one of the top addresses for legal consultation of companies in crisis situations. For instance, consultation of the metalworking companies Bremer Vulkan and Klckner in the 90s, Kirch Media or Babcock Borsig in the economic crisis at the beginning of this decade and these are only a few names from a long series of interesting client relationships involved in restructuring or insolvency. The initial goal has always been to avoid insolvency or, according to former law, prepare legal settlement proceedings, such as the case with Klckner. But sometimes its already too late for that. In these cases the main focus is on how best to retain viable industrial core businesses or sustainable parts of the business. We can justifiably say that we ourselves invented the model of self-administration which is now allowed by the German Insolvency Act. In the case of the first rescue attempts of Philipp Holzmann AG, our colleague Klaus Hubert Grg joined the Board of Directors of the company in order to manage the settlement process of a self-administered regulatory process from there without the company administration having to bear the blemish of being managed by a court-appointed insolvency administrator. And yes, with our expertise and experience we are enjoying a kind of boom for our law firm. But we are a company which in the past years has also developed its business far beyond the restructuring sector. Today we cover all essential areas of business law and the corresponding sectors such as M&A, Banking, Media, Property Law and also Energy Law. But we still remain in a very good position especially in those areas which demand particular experience in crisis situations. Aside from the restructuring work and insolvency adminisin the international law offices with a high degree of leverage* and where the past years have concentrated increasingly on a onesided emphasis on banking and transaction business. Such firms will continue to be able to play out their strengths in areas demanding multijurisdictional consultation. But it looks like this business sector will dramatically drop in importance. In my opinion, the respective national legal advice will gain in significance and hence also law firms with a unijurisdictional approach like our own: we provide consultation concerning German law in Germany and recommend to our clients the respectively best foreign law firms when foreign law is concerned. For that reason we do not maintain any foreign offices. NeumannPartners: How satisfied is your clientele with your national positioning? Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert: You are addressing a very central point here. How does the motto serve your clients function in a globalised world? Germany has been the export world champion in the past years and yet there is no really international law firm with German Central Headquarters. This has to do with the fact that German business people, unlike American, do not necessarily want to have their German lawyer with them when pursuing business abroad. Much more frequently, the German investor tends to contact a local law firm over his own General Counsellor abroad. The Americans, in contrast, tend to engage their own law firm. This means that although we provide consulting services for our clients in Germany and remain their main contact, if they are involved in investment activities abroad, we do not ourselves conduct the legal transactions there. We have to watch out that we do not lose a part of domestic demand for good legal consultation to foreign law firms. We can only do that by constant efforts to pro* Leverage here means the relationship between partners and employed lawyers in a law firm. A ratio of 1:2 is low, 1:5 is high.

True Faces conducts an interview with Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert, Managing Partner of the law firm GRG in Berlin.
tration, important here is also expertise in labour law. NeumannPartners: Is the decision not to be represented with your own offices abroad a conscious delimitation to the large international law firms? Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert: A look at the international lawyer market reveals that the international law firms are almost all AngloSaxon. This has historical causes, since it apparently was easier to develop companylike structures in the consultation business in the Anglo-Saxon world. There is no law firm in Germany which has managed to rise up to the level of such international firms with a multi-office strategy in different jurisdictions. Therefore it is more important for us to position ourselves in the market so that we can be seen as one of the undisputedly leading law firms in our domestic market. But we are constantly thinking about whether and how we have to position ourselves abroad, in order to be able to secure this leading position in the German market. The international Anglo-Saxon law firms clearly face enormous challenges in the present economic crisis, because they will lose their dominance at the same rate as their bank-driven business declines. At the same time, this will significantly change the globalisation flows. Therefore I see considerable restructuring demand
vide the highest possible quality service, so that large international clients also come to us for their activities in Germany. NeumannPartners: GRG is distinguished from other law firms partly because of its extremely low leverage. Do the partners actually work actively on projects? Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert: We have remained strongly oriented towards German medium-sized firms. I simply cannot send one of our second-year associates to the managing director of a medium-sized firm. He would not be accepted. The partners have to do many things themselves, since our vis--vis expects this of us. I can only permit a leverage of one to four or more, as is sometimes the case for large transaction law firms, when the work demands this kind of relationship, for instance for more or less uniform activities with standardised solutions, such as have been common practice in the past years for high-value transactions regarding preliminary due diligences. In advance, when developing these solutions, a good deal of conceptual work is required, but that only has to be done once; afterwards it frequently suffices to work through a kind of preset scheme. However, this kind of work is a very different consultation approach than the strategic consultation for a medium-sized firm in the acquisition or sale of a company. In this case I must be able to absolutely put myself in the role of my client. In such cases Im only then a good consultant if I dont let myself be reduced to the mere role of a legal pen pusher or technocrat. NeumannPartners: How do you assess the dynamic tension of being simultaneously lawyer and businessman as Managing Partner responsible for the Berlin office? Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert: This is one of the greatest basic conflicts for many lawyers. Here in Germany, law school prepares us for becoming a judge, and not for working as a lawyer and certainly not as businessman or entrepreneur. Whether or not one learns that later is often uncertain. We try to convey to our younger colleagues what it means to be a business consultant and counsellor. Initially, young colleagues are often afraid to pronounce firm legal opinions in a concrete case. If this for instance is not possible because the legal position is unclear, they

must at least be able to work out an external normative framework in which the client as businessman can operate on firm legal ground. After we provide a short recommendation for action, our client must be in the position of going back to his particular com-
Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert: The recently faded image of the care and principles of a sound businessman deserves a renaissance! The companies of those who follow sound business practices are much less likely to be caught up in the economic crisis. Even if dire
We can justifiably say that we ourselves invented the model of self-administration now allowed by the new German Insolvency Act claims Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert.
pany department and say You can implement this. NeumannPartners: The success of the client is central to you as a service provider. On the other hand when one speaks of a successful law firm, one often looks exclusively at its profits or the profits of its partners. How does that fit together? Dr. Roland Hoffmann-Theinert: Its not a zero-sum game. We are concerned with longterm relationships with our clients, and that only functions if in the end the client thinks and perhaps even says that he has gotten a fair equivalent value for his money. In any case we havent participated in all the overheatings of the market. Billable hourly rates of 700 to 800 euros, which some international law firms tried to impose on the market, are excesses which I believe the future legal market will not support in the future. With our more moderate price policy we have been able to acquire top clients, including a few DAX30 companies, in the past few years. NeumannPartners: Could you name some mistakes that managers make over and over again during restructuring processes?
fallibilities cannot be excluded despite best efforts under adverse market conditions. But still, we regularly experience that both owner executives and hired managers simply do not sustainably keep their company cost situation under control and slide into liquidity crises. And they usually react too late to market changes, so that they regularly lose the necessary substance the company needs to get back on its feet in cases of unforeseen market changes. But this costs money, which often is not available in sufficient amounts. We are also seeing business units which were built up without enough deliberation, or, although originally well thought out, the business sense and will-power is missing to admit in time that the decision was wrong and must be corrected. I can only repeat again and again: entrepreneurs make mistakes. This is an integral part of business life and theres nothing dishonourable about it at all. The most important thing a manager has to do is to make decisions. But this also involves the ability to critically re-examine the situation and determine that the decision which was right yesterday may not be right today, under different market conditions, and thus has to be revised.

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Imprint Publisher: Neumann Leadership Deutschland GmbH Neuer Wall Hamburg Deutschland www.neumannpartners.de Responsible person for the purpose of (German) press law: Thomas Wilde Overall management and editorial: Kommunikation von Poser und Gro-Naedlitz, www.vpugn.de Authors of this issue: Annette Bhm Dr. Helmut Neumann Thomas Wilde Design: dot.blue communication & design Jutta Schlotthauer www.dbcd.de Translations: NEWSPEAK-bersetzungen, Dr. Michael Bolten MCIL, www.newspeak.de