History of Productive Systems

Productive Systems was founded in 1983 by Dr. Marvin Seppanen after he returned to his home state of Minnesota after university teaching experiences in Alabama and Michigan. The introduction of the IBM XT personal computer made it possible for the first time to develop reasonable large scale simulation models from a home based office in Winona, Minnesota. The first software loaded on that computer included Lotus 1-2-3, WordStar, and SIMAN. Because his most recent teaching experience was with General Motors Institute in Flint, Michigan, it was natural that some of Productive Systems first projects involved several divisions of General Motors. In order to make simulation models easy to use by clients who wished to solve problems rather than learn new tools, Dr. Seppanen developed methods to generate SIMAN simulation experiment code directed from user populated spreadsheets. This initial work involved converting the spreadsheet data to a DFX format that could be read by a BASIC program that in turn generated the necessary SIMAN simulation code. This technique evolved overtime with the development of the Arena simulation framework and its embedded Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). These techniques have greatly refined over time with a recent project starting with Excel based input data and the simulation results being used to generate a MicroSoft Project Gantt Chart depicting the operation of a complex automated fabrication machine system for a major client.

In 2009 Productive Systems started a new step in its evolution in its effort to provide cutting edge simulation modeling by becoming a distribution partner of Simio, LLC. This partnership opens the opportunity to provide Productive Systems's clients the latest in simulation technology.