Is FabSuite the same company as Tekla PowerFab?
Yes. Trimble acquired FabSuite in April 2018 and relaunched it in March 2019 as the core of Tekla PowerFab, renaming the management system Tekla EPM. In 2023 Trimble retired the EPM name, so the product is now simply Tekla PowerFab. A shop still running FabSuite is on the legacy version of PowerFab, not a rival.
Key facts
- Trimble acquired the assets of FabSuite in April 2018.
- In March 2019 Trimble relaunched the product as the core of Tekla PowerFab. The FabSuite management system was renamed Tekla EPM.
- In 2023 Trimble retired the EPM name. The desktop product is now Tekla PowerFab and the shop floor app is PowerFab Go.
- A shop still running FabSuite is on the legacy version of what is now PowerFab, not on a competing product.
- Trimble also owns Tekla Structures, so a Tekla Structures shop evaluating PowerFab is buying model, MIS, and viewer from one vendor.
The timeline
| Year | What happened | What the product was called |
|---|---|---|
| Before 2018 | FabSuite sold as an independent steel fabrication management system, widely used in US shops | FabSuite |
| April 2018 | Trimble acquires the FabSuite assets | FabSuite, under Trimble |
| March 2019 | Relaunch as the Tekla PowerFab suite; the MIS inside it is renamed | Tekla EPM, inside Tekla PowerFab |
| 2023 | EPM name retired | Tekla PowerFab, with PowerFab Go |
The product was renamed twice in five years, so plenty of shops never stopped saying FabSuite, and vendors let the confusion ride. A "PowerFab vs FabSuite" comparison is one product against its own earlier version.
What this means if you are evaluating
If you run legacy FabSuite today, the decision is narrower than it looks. You are choosing between the upgrade path inside Trimble and using the disruption of a migration to look at a vendor-neutral system such as STRUMIS. Price both paths before assuming the upgrade is the cheap one.
If you are comparing from scratch, ask roadmap questions rather than feature questions. Two products with the same owner will converge. The question is which one the owner is investing in, and the answer since 2019 has been PowerFab.
Is FabSuite discontinued?
As a standalone product, yes. Trimble stopped selling FabSuite under its own name with the March 2019 relaunch, and shops still running it are on a legacy install of what is now Tekla PowerFab. The upgrade path leads into PowerFab, not to a newer FabSuite.
Is Tekla EPM still a product?
The product exists, the name does not. Tekla EPM was what the renamed FabSuite MIS was called from 2019 to 2023. Trimble retired the name with the 2023 release, so current documentation says Tekla PowerFab, and the mobile app formerly called Tekla EPM Go is now PowerFab Go.
The other parent company worth knowing
Nemetschek owns Bluebeam, Allplan, and SDS2. So a shop that marks up in Bluebeam, details in SDS2, and runs PowerFab is buying from two parents, Nemetschek and Trimble, for most of its stack. That matters when you negotiate and when a vendor claims an integration is "native."
How Ferra handles this
Ferra is not an MIS and does not compete with PowerFab. It sits before the purchase order: it reads the drawing set, produces the takeoff, and exports quantities that PowerFab or STRUMIS then import for estimating and production. The full comparison, including how to get comparable quotes from both vendors, is in Tekla PowerFab vs STRUMIS vs FabSuite.
Sources
- Trimble, Trimble acquires FabSuite, April 2018.
- Trimble, Trimble launches Tekla PowerFab for next generation steel fabrication, March 2019.
- Tekla User Assistance, Tekla PowerFab replaces the name Tekla EPM, 2023.