What AutoForm makes

AutoForm makes engineering software for sheet metal forming and Body-in-White (BiW) assembly, not physical parts. Its programs let engineers plan, simulate, and validate how a flat sheet of steel or aluminum becomes a formed automotive panel, and how those panels come together into a car body, before any tooling is cut. The core product families are AutoForm Forming, for digital planning and validation of stamping processes and parts; AutoForm Assembly, which covers the full BiW assembly workflow including tolerance and quality management; and AutoForm ProgDie, for designing and simulating progressive die strip layouts. Alongside these sit AutoForm Tube for tube bending and hydroforming, LogoPress for progressive die design, TriboForm for friction and lubrication modeling, a set of CAD-embedded modules, and browser-based cloud offerings.

The purpose of the software is to move trial-and-error out of the physical die shop and into simulation. A stamping engineer can check part feasibility, estimate tool and material cost, design the die face, compensate for springback, and run a full-cycle virtual tryout on screen, which shortens the expensive tryout loop on real presses. AutoForm describes its customers as automotive and other OEMs, tooling and stamping companies, and steel and aluminum suppliers, with growing use in aerospace, medical, electrical appliances, and white goods. For buyers, the relevant point is that AutoForm software sits upstream of the production part approval process, shaping how stamped and assembled parts are engineered before an OEM or tier supplier commits to hard tooling.

Ownership and history

AutoForm was founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1995 as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH Zurich). Its founder, Dr. Waldemar Kubli, developed a new solver for forming simulation during a project at the ETH Institute of Metal Forming, carried out with industry partners including Audi, Alusuisse, and Hoesch. The solver code from his doctoral work became the basis for the original AutoForm software, and Kubli was named Entrepreneur of the Year in 2002. He remains a member of the group's advisory board.

The company has changed private-equity hands twice. Astorg, a European PE firm, acquired AutoForm in 2016. In November 2021, The Carlyle Group agreed to buy AutoForm from Astorg in a transaction reported by Reuters at about $2 billion, and Carlyle remains the owner. AutoForm does not publish standalone financial figures, so revenue is not reported here rather than estimated. The company is headquartered in Pfaffikon SZ, Switzerland, with a development center in Zurich, and it employs more than 500 people worldwide. Day-to-day leadership runs through a group executive board led by CEO Olivier Leteurtre, a former Dassault Systemes and Siemens PLM executive, with Christian Burgherr as CFO since 2019 and a long-tenured technical bench including CMO Dr. Markus Thomma and Corporate Technical Director Dr. Bart Carleer.

Global footprint

AutoForm sells and supports its software through a wide direct footprint rather than a single site. The company runs more than 20 owned offices, with two locations in Switzerland (the Pfaffikon SZ headquarters and the Zurich development center), two in the United States (Troy and Grand Rapids, Michigan), and offices across the Netherlands, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Mexico, Brazil, India, China, Japan, and Korea. It is further represented by agents in more than 10 additional countries, giving it local presence in most major vehicle-producing regions.

That reach matches its user base. AutoForm reports over 3,500 users in more than 1,000 companies across 50 countries. In 2025 and 2026 the group expanded through acquisition as well as geography, acquiring German simulation-software developer Stampack GmbH in October 2025 to broaden its forming-simulation portfolio.

Known customers

AutoForm names a large roster of automotive and industrial customers on its own website. Because these are documented on the company's own customer page and homepage, they are reported here as claimed relationships. All entries below are software customers, not parts-supply relationships.

AutoForm states that all major automotive OEMs and the majority of their suppliers have selected its software. That is a company claim; the individual company names above are the verifiable part, drawn directly from AutoForm's published customer list.

Frequently asked questions

What does AutoForm Engineering make?

AutoForm makes engineering software for sheet metal forming and Body-in-White assembly, used by automotive OEMs and their suppliers. Its main products are AutoForm Forming (stamping simulation), AutoForm Assembly (BiW assembly process validation), and AutoForm ProgDie (progressive die design), along with tools for tube forming, friction modeling, and cloud-based access. It does not manufacture physical parts; it makes the software engineers use to design and validate forming and assembly processes.

Who owns AutoForm?

AutoForm is owned by The Carlyle Group, a global private-equity firm, which acquired it from Astorg in a deal announced in November 2021 and reported at about $2 billion. AutoForm was founded in 1995 as a spin-off from ETH Zurich and was previously owned by Astorg from 2016.

Where is AutoForm headquartered?

AutoForm Engineering GmbH is headquartered in Pfaffikon SZ, Switzerland, at Unterdorfstrasse 12, with a software development center in Zurich. The company operates more than 20 offices worldwide, including two in Michigan (Troy and Grand Rapids), and is represented by agents in more than 10 additional countries.

Who are AutoForm's customers?

AutoForm reports over 3,500 users in more than 1,000 companies across 50 countries. Named customers on its own site include BMW, Mercedes-Benz, General Motors, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Geely, BYD, Lucid Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, Samsung Electronics, GE Appliances, and steel and aluminum suppliers such as ArcelorMittal. Its users are automotive and other OEMs, tooling and stamping companies, and metal suppliers.

How large is AutoForm?

AutoForm employs more than 500 people worldwide and runs more than 20 owned offices across Europe, the Americas, and Asia. The company does not publish standalone revenue figures. Its 2021 sale to The Carlyle Group was reported at about $2 billion in enterprise value.

Is AutoForm a Tier 1 supplier?

No. AutoForm is a software vendor, not a parts manufacturer, so it is not a tier supplier in the manufacturing sense. It sells engineering and simulation software to automotive OEMs and to Tier 1 and Tier 2 stamping and tooling suppliers, whose parts are engineered and validated using AutoForm tools before tooling is built.

Last verified September 27, 2026. Is this your company? Request a correction.