Greycon
 | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Information Technology |
| Founded | 1985 |
| Headquarters | London, England |
| Key people | Constantine Goulimis, CEO |
| Products |
X-Trim, opt-Studio, GreyconMill |
| Employees | 85 (2012) |
| Website | http://www.greycon.com |
Greycon Ltd is an information technology firm based in London, England developing software for scheduling (production processes) and the cutting stock problem primarily for the paper, film, nonwovens and metals industries. The company's solution for the cutting stock problem is responsible for savings equivalent to 0.5 – 1.5% of production, with important environment and financial benefits. It is used, among others, to optimise more than one third of total North American paper production and in the largest paper mill in China. Greycon tools are also used in the production of all UK banknotes.
In April 2008, Greycon introduced a new product for block scheduling and production cycle optimisation called D-Opt. D-Opt was selected as a finalist for the Innovations award by SoftwareCEO in the Vertical Industry category. This product was replaced in March 2010 by opt-Studio, which combines block schedule optimisation and trim optimisation capabilities into one application.
In October 2008, Greycon introduced parallel processing technology into its mainstream X-Trim trim optimisation product. This takes advantage of multi-core processors in order to improve the time taken to solve difficult problems.
In September 2009 Greycon introduced GreyconMill, an industry-specific manufacturing execution system emanating from its acquisition of Effsys. The industries targeted by this product are in the paper and (plastic) film sectors primarily.
In December 2010 Greycon, together with several of its US customers and some of its competitors, was sued by Abnoba, a non-practicing entity, in the Eastern District of Texas for patent infringement of US patent 6,745,099. The case was settled in April 2011 on confidential terms.
In November 2013 Greycon introduced a scheduling system for pulp mills called PulpPlan. PulpPlan uses mathematical optimisation to maximise throughput and reduced costs and CO2 emissions.
History
Greycon is a spin-off company, founded in 1985 by Prof. Greyham Bryant, Dr. Constantine Goulimis and Mr. Alexander Dimitriadis of Imperial College to capitalise on research in production planning and scheduling for the paper industry.
Greycon has acquired the followed businesses:
- BCW (2004)
- The Paper Mill Manager business from i2 Technologies (2004)
- Effsys Effektiva (2008)
Aims
Greycon develops and implements solutions that contain elements of mathematical optimisation and are used in supply chain problems in the paper, film and nonwovens industries.
Tax case
Greycon was involved in a legal challenge regarding taxation of key-man insurance policies in the UK. When Alex Dimitriadis died in April 1999, the company received the benefits of a key-man insurance policy. The Inland Revenue wanted to treat this as taxable income, but Greycon challenged this in the courts and won, thus establishing that not all key-man policy receipts are trading income, particularly where the policy is taken out for a clear capital purpose.