Acquisition boosts software resources

ESI Group and CFD Research Corp (CFDRC) have established a strategic partnership to deliver the most comprehensive virtual engineering software portfolio to the market.

ESI Group and CFD Research Corp (CFDRC) have established a strategic partnership to deliver the most comprehensive virtual engineering software portfolio to the market.

This partnership includes the acquisition of CFDRC's six software products and associated personnel, as well as a long-term agreement for collaborative developments with CFDRC's research team.

The integration of CFDRC's Software Product Division into ESI Group will expand their combined product portfolio and market penetration in new, growing market segments.

Computational flow dynamics and multiphysics solutions from CFDRC - such as CFD-ACE+, CFD-Fastran, CFD-Viscart and CFD-CADalyzer - will be further developed, commercialised and supported by ESI Group, which will integrate a team of 42 highly qualified professionals out of the 130 people currently working within CFDRC.

The CFDRC product portfolio meets the needs of various industries in the area of semiconductors, biotechnology, fuel cells, MEMS (micro-electromechanical systems), plasma, combustion and propulsion.

CFDRC's flagship multiphysics simulation software product, CFD-ACE+, allows coupled simulations of fluid, thermal, chemical, electrical, biological, and mechanical phenomena in engineering equipment and systems.

CFD-Fastran is the most matured commercial software for high-speed flows with multiple moving bodies.

New CFD-Viscart and CFD-CADalyzer facilitate access to advanced fluid dynamics for CAD engineers and designers.

CFDRC's software and services are used by over 600 organisations worldwide, including ABB, Applied Materials, Ballard Power, BMW, Boeing, Canon, Caterpillar, Chrysler, Dupont, Ford, GE, Hitachi, Honeywell, HP, Hyundai, IBM, Intel, Kodak, Lockheed Martin, Motorola, Mitsubishi, Novellus, Parker Hannifin, Procter and Gamble, Pratt and Whitney, Rolls Royce, Samsung, Siemens (Infineon), Toyota, TSMC, and Volkswagen.

Alain de Rouvray, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ESI Group, said: "This strategic partnership enables ESI Group to diversify its business outside the automotive sector and to enter new market sectors with strong growth potential.

The acquisition is a continuation of our strategy to expand our product portfolio and strengthen our market presence in the US, by substantially increasing our client base and client support resources".

The commercial Software Product Division spinoff will enable CFDRC to focus on funded R and D contracts and partnerships in order to deliver state-of-the-art numerical and physical models for coupled multidisciplinary simulations and new innovative designs and prototypes of engineering devices that can be used in the biomedical sector, bio-diagnostics, combustion, propulsion, power, and other industries.

Ashok Singhal, President and Chief Executive Officer of CFDRC, stated: "The combined capabilities of CFDRC and ESI Group will present the best of both worlds, ie the most advanced multiphysics, multidisciplinary simulations in all popular software infrastructure and user environments".

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