History

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Alain de Rouvray, Jacques Dubois, Eberhard Haug

THE STORY BEGINS

ESI (Engineering Systems International) is created in France by Alain de Rouvray, current Chairman and President, and three other Berkeley PhDs (Jacques Dubois, Iraj Farhoomand, Eberhard Haug).
The company initially operates as a consulting company. ESI gradually develops sophisticated simulation techniques based on Finite Element Analysis, and acquires a broad understanding of industrial processes and needs.
CREATION OF A SUBSIDIARY IN GERMANY

Following a strong demand from German automotive companies as they start to implement the very first crash and safety regulations, ESI opens a subsidiary in Germany (ESI GmbH).
First Volkswagen Polo crash test. Virtual and physical tests. Courtesy of Volkswagen AG.

FIRST CRASH TEST ON FULL CAR

ESI teams up with a German consortium led by Volkswagen to become the first company to develop simulation software analyzing the severe deformations inflicted on a car as a result of a crash. This is the first step towards the development of ESI’s flagship product PAM-CRASH (PAM standing for: Program in Applied Mechanics).
ESI offers numerical simulation solutions for numerous industrial processes.

CREATION OF SOFTWARE ACTIVITY

ESI raises capital from venture capital firm Burr, Egan & Deleage to become a software editor of applied mechanics. ESI also creates the software company PSI (PAM Systems International), in charge of developing a unique set of software tools to speed up the manufacturing and testing process of industrial products, while improving their design.
CREATION OF SUBSIDIARIES IN JAPAN, US AND SOUTH KOREA

To market its software more widely, ESI sets up subsidiaries in the United States, in Japan, and in South Korea a few years later. ESI Group is now an international organization.
ACQUISITION OF FRAMASOFT

ESI Group acquires from Framatome (now AREVA) its software subsidiary Framasoft (renamed Systus International), a leading French provider of mechanical simulation tools, especially suited to the nuclear energy sector.
Stamping simulation of a car door. Courtesy of SKODA Auto.

ACQUISITION OF DYNAMIC SOFTWARE

ESI Group reinforces its expertise in metal stamping simulation with the acquisition of Dynamic Software, editor of the Optris "virtual press" software.
INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERING ON NYSE EURONEXT PARIS & ISO 9001-2000 CERTIFICATION

With its IPO on July 6^th, 2000, ESI Group is successfully listed in Eurolist Compartment C of Euronext Paris stock market and raises around 30 million Euros.
During the same year, in order to strengthen and improve its process management, the company is involved in a large quality enhancement program. ESI Group successfully obtains its first ISO 9001 certification, following audits conducted by an independent and accredited third party company.
CREATION OF SUBSIDIARIES IN CZECH REPUBLIC AND SPAIN & ACQUISITION OF STRACO

ESI Group pursues an active acquisitions policy by successfully integrating companies and creating subsidiaries for developing European markets.
Acquisition of Straco (French company), a first step to enter in the Vibro-Acoustic market.
Filling of Cast Iron (Sand Casting). Courtesy of Fonderia Casati Spa.

CREATION OF A SUBSIDIARY IN THE UK & ACQUISITION OF VASCI, PROCAST AND CALCOM

ESI strengthens its position in Europe and opens a new subsidiary in the UK.
ESI also extend its offering in:
- the Vibro-Acoustic sector with VASci (Vibro-Acoustic Sciences), an American solution for the simulation of noise and acoustics;
- the casting & industrial metallurgy sector with the acquisition of the Swiss software ProCAST, followed by the integration of the Swiss-based distribution company Calcom.
ESI’s common platform allows for increasingly collaborative work.

ACQUISITION OF EASI & CREATION OF A SUBSIDIARY IN INDIA

ESI Group acquires from the American vendor EASi the intellectual property rights to EASi’s CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) simulation design and control software environments, allowing ESI to develop an open collaborative engineering environment.
During the same year, ESI creates a subsidiary in India to reinforce it’s global offering and to provide local high quality services.
ESI’s CFD software tools applied to plasma technologies, widely used in the electronics sector.

ACQUISITION OF CFDRC PRODUCTS & CREATION OF A SUBSIDIARY IN CHINA

The acquisition of CFD Research Corporation’s product division enables ESI Group to diversify its business in advanced Fluid Dynamics, targeting new market sectors with strong growth potential, including electronics, biotechnology and alternative energies. Facing a fast growing local economy, ESI Group creates a subsidiary in China to facilitate access to strategic industrial projects for the benefit of Chinese customers.
Human models. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Company.

ACQUISITION OF ATE TECHNOLOGY AND IPS INT. HUMAN MODELS

ESI Group signs a strategic partnership, which culminates with the acquisition of the Chinesebased company ATE Technology International, bringing expertise of integrated solutions in the aeronautic sector.
ESI Group acquires the branch of IPS International for digital simulation services in engineering applications (CAE) in South Korea, as well as the intellectual property rights to their virtual human models, empowering ESI to enter promising markets such as passenger comfort simulation.
CFD analysis for air charge temperature evaluation.

CREATION OF A SUBSIDIARY IN ITALY & ACQUISITION OF VDOT AND MINDWARE

In order to strengthen its position in Europe and in alignment with its distribution network development strategy, ESI opens a subsidiary in Italy.
ESI Group acquires Vdot™, a software platform for lean process management from the US company Procelerate Technologies Inc. This enterprise process decision-making tool can capture and automate best practices and naturally complements ESI’s range of digital simulation solutions, delivering virtual prototyping integration and synchronization within the PLM (Product Lifecycle Management).
ESI Group also acquires leading US Services provider Mindware Engineering Inc. This acquisition clearly accelerates ESI’s ability to further develop Virtual Prototyping in the CFD market while strengthening its presence in the US.
CREATION OF SUBSIDIARIES IN BRAZIL AND TUNISIA

ESI Group opens a new subsidiary in Brazil, a country with fast developing industries, and also in Tunisia, where a "near shore" competency center is now dedicated to high value-added projects.
ESI’s immersive Virtual Reality solutions using real time 3D technologies.

ACQUISITION OF IC.IDO AND EFIELD & STRONG GROWTH

ESI acquires IC.IDO GmbH, the leading European vendor of immersive Virtual Reality solutions, allowing customers to experience their models "live" in 3D, to support effective and collective decision-making.
The acquisition of Efield follows: the European specialist in electromagnetic simulation solutions strengthens ESI’s electromagnetic offering.
The open source code OpenFOAM® is a reference in Computational Fluid Dynamics.

ACQUISITION OF OpenCFD LTD., FIRST OFFICES IN RUSSIA, JOINT-VENTURE FRAMEWORK AGREEMENT WITH BIAM-AVIC & STRATEGIC COLLABORATION WITH ASTRIUM

ESI acquires OpenCFD Ltd., the leader in Open Source Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) software, and consequently becomes the owner of the OpenFOAM® trademark. In September, ESI opens its first offices in Russia, strengthening its existing position on the fast-growing Russian market. In November, ESI signs a joint-venture framework agreement with BIAM-AVIC (Beijing Institute of Aeronautical Materials), to follow up on the strategic partnership agreement signed in 2011. That same month, ESI signs a protocol for a multi-year strategic collaboration agreement with Astrium, Europe’s leading space technology company.
ESI shows a steady growth with 2012 revenue totaling 109 Million Euros, balanced between Europe, Americas and Asia.
Signature Ceremony for the Joint-Venture contract between ESI and AVIC-BIAM.

SIGNATURE CEREMONY FOR THE JOINT-VENTURE CONTRACT BETWEEN ESI AND AVIC-BIAM AND ACQUISITION OF CYDESIGN LABS

In January, Renault and ESI Group sign a framework agreement for strategic collaboration. The agreement aims at supporting Renault’s new strategic plan "Renault 2016 – Drive the Change".
In May, ESI signs the Joint Venture contract initiated in 2012 with AVIC-BIAM. Under the terms of the contract, the parties agree to establish and operate the Joint Venture company "AVIC-ESI (Beijing) Technology Co. Ltd.".

In October ESI acquires CyDesign Labs, a lead innovator in systems-modeling. This US company based in the Silicon Valley owns a disruptive proprietary technology for advanced product design.

ESI celebrates its 40th anniversary! Read our dedicated web section, featuring articles about key customers, by ESI employees. Click here.
Fluctuating surface pressures on the side glass of the car calculated using OpenFOAM® open source CFD code.

ACQUISITION OF CAMMECH

In 2014, ESI acquires the Vietnamese company CAMMECH, deploying ESI’s multi-shoring model and strategically strengthening its presence in Asia.

In May, in Paris, the 3rd ESI Global Forum gathers ESI users from all over the world, while the second OpenFOAM conference in Berlin evidences the potential for the open-source code at industrial scale.
Realistic 3D scene of vehicles driving around a city: ESI Pro-SiVIC™

FOUR ACQUISITIONS, A RECORD

ESI pursues its acquisition strategy aimed at building a holistic and complete offering for Virtual Prototyping. CIVITEC, creators of a breakthrough technology dedicated to the development and integration of embedded Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) joins ESI Group. ESI also acquires the assets of PRESTO, providers of a disruptive solution dedicated to the electronic device market, the assets of PicViz, specialists in big data visual analysis to detect unknown operational problems, and the assets of Ciespace, for Cloud Based CAE modeling.
ACQUISITIONS OF ITI GMBH AND MINESET

ACQUISITIONS OF ITI GMBH AND MINESET

ESI acquires ITI GmbH, a global leader in the realistic simulation of mechatronic and multi-domain systems with their software SimulationX. ESI also acquires Mineset Inc., a big data visual analytics and machine learning specialist. At the end of the fiscal year, ESI announces the transfer of its shares from the compartment C to compartment B of Euronext Paris.
ESI today

TODAY...

With the acquisition of Scilab at the beginning of the year, ESI boldly pursues its path into 0D-4D modeling: from product inception to Immersive Virtual Engineering. Coupled with the latest technologies, Virtual Prototyping is now anchored in the wider concept of the Product Performance Lifecycle.

Today, ESI employs more than 1200 high-level specialists worldwide. Headquartered in Paris (France), the company and its global network of agents provide sales and technical support to customers in more than 40 countries.