How Knapheide is Creating Engineers of the Future with SOLIDWORKS Certification

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SOLIDWORKS Enterprise Subscription Services, a premium support contract, provides customers with unlimited free SOLIDWORKS Certification exams. What’s the big deal? Listen to Marty Ohnemus, Engineering Systems Administrator from the Knapheide Manufacturing Company, describe the benefits of its Certification program and how it’s transformed the company’s community of engineers.

Knapheide was founded by Herman Heinrich Knapheide in 1848 in Quincy, Illinois, initially building high-quality wagons for pioneers, farmers, and miners. Today, the Knapheide Manufacturing Company is a major producer of truck bodies, service bodies, and other work vehicles. Knapheide’s engineering was a 2D shop before deploying SOLIDWORKS in 2002.

In 2017, the company’s engineers submitted an average of 2,600 tickets per year. When Knapheide noticed that its only Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert (CSWE) engineer submitted only 1-2 tickets per year, and only for blocking issues, they initiated a formal Certification Program for new and existing Knapheide engineers.

The program exposed training gaps, which were consistent across their engineers. Knapheide was able to bring in their SolidWorks Partner to provide training to remove those gaps. This effort enabled them to create a skill baseline. Identifying these gaps helped Knapheide define a baseline for its engineers’ training.

New engineers now spend their first month in an onboarding process that includes preparation for and taking the following exams:

o   SOLIDWORKS CAD Design Associate (CSWA)

o   SOLIDWORKS Drawing Tools Professional (CSWP-DT)

o   SOLIDWORKS Sheet Metal Professional (CSWP-SM)

o   SOLIDWORKS CAD Design Professional (CSWP)

Knapheide’s Certification Program reduced its ticket inflow to just 650 tickets per year, and many of these are requests for new ways to do something or inquiries about solving engineering challenges. The program also helps its engineers stay current on the new features in each SOLIDWORKS release.

The SOLIDWORKS Certification Program contains 19 exams in various CAD areas. If you’re interested in learning more about the program, you can contact your SOLIDWORKS Partner or your SOLIDWORKS Sales Executive. ESS customers can also reach out to its SOLIDWORKS Customer Success Manager.

Ready to get certified? Take advantage of the free SOLIDWORKS Certification exams offered at 3DEXPERIENCE World 2026 in Houston! Learn more about this amazing opportunity to get SOLIDWORKS-certified for free in this blog.

Marty Ohnemus, Avelino Rochino, and Cliff Medling each deserve a big shout-out for helping make this video happen!

 

Mary Powell

Mary Powell

Marie Powell is a Senior Customer Success Manager, supporting SOLIDWORKS ESS Customers. She began her career at Dassault Systemes in 1997 as an infrastructure software developer for ProductManager, a PDM system, and has served as a CSM for over half her tenure. In her free time, Marie enjoys working on home projects, singing with Opera Carolina, traveling, spending time with her 2 sons and granddaughters, and serving on the board of a non-profit, which provides services for TBI survivors, veterans, and more.