ANSYS, Inc., formerly Swanson Analysis Systems, Inc., was founded in 1970 by Dr. John A. Swanson to develop, support, and market the ANSYS^® program, a finite element analysis code widely used in the computer-aided engineering (CAE) environment. Since its inception, the company has grown to more than 250 employees and offers a range of software solutions for engineering design, analysis, and optimization. The company has long-term relationships with customers in a range of industries, including transportation, electronics packaging, biomedical, industrial equipment, and consumer goods.

In March 1994, Peter J. Smith, formerly an executive with Digital Equipment Corporation, became the company’s first chief executive officer and started to focus on leading the company through its next growth phase. In the following year, ANSYS, Inc. became the first finite element design and analysis software developer to obtain ISO 9001 certification, the internationally accepted quality standard for the software industry.

In June 1996, ANSYS, Inc. successfully completed its initial public offering and began trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "ANSS." In that same year, the company introduced the revolutionary DesignSpace® product line, computer-aided design (CAD) associative analysis tools, available for use with most CAD software. In February 1997, the company relocated to its current corporate headquarters in Southpointe, a commercial real estate development located southwest of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

In 1999, ANSYS, Inc. continues to focus on the expansion of the functionality of the software as well as the overall growth of the company. In March, ANSYS, Inc. acquired Centric Engineering Systems, Inc., a Sunnyvale, California company. This acquisition reinforces the industry-leading ANSYS, Inc. multiphysics product organization with additional experience and leadership in tightly coupled physics, visualization, and efficient parallel processing.

In April, the company appointed James E. Cashman III to the position of President. In his new role, Cashman is responsible for Product Creation, Corporate Quality, Information Technology, Business Operations & Facilities, Accounting and Human Resources; in addition to his continuing responsibilities for Legal & Contracts, Marketing, Customer Services, and World Wide Sales. Before joining ANSYS, Inc., Mr. Cashman was a Senior Vice President at PAR Technology Corporation.

Today, ANSYS, Inc. software products help redefine the product development processes that enable customers all over the world to meet engineering challenges and compete in the global marketplace. That is why ANSYS, Inc. has been chosen to provide software solutions to 73 of Fortune’s top 100 industrial companies, including each of the top ten. Using these software tools, engineering analysts and design engineers can accelerate product time-to-market, reduce production costs, improve engineering processes, and optimize product quality and safety for a variety of manufactured products. In addition, ANSYS, Inc. partners with leading design software and hardware suppliers to develop state-of-the-art, engineering solutions.

DesignSpace software delivers front-end analysis to design engineers in a way that no other tool has been able to duplicate. With user-friendly features that include wizards for easy problem setup, a unique windows look and feel, and automatic Web-based report generation, DesignSpace places the most reliable and easy to use tool on the design engineer’s desktop. The latest release, version 5, allows users to associatively leverage their CAD assemblies and accurately simulate assembly designs.

This technology, when combined with the robust functionality of the ANSYS product line, creates a total engineering solution that spans the CAE spectrum like no other. Containing the widest range of functionality available today in a single engineering software package, ANSYS software provides cutting-edge technology for simplifying complex nonlinear structural problem solving. With the latest release, ANSYS 5.5 now delivers unmatched surface-to-surface general contact capabilities for focusing on multi-body contact.

The company markets its products principally through its global network of independent regional ANSYS Support Distributors and value-added resellers, which have local offices in more than 37 countries. For more information about ANSYS, Inc. products and services, visit our Website at www.ansys.com.

DesignSpace and ANSYS are registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

 

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