Dassault Systèmes and ESI Group Join Forces to Deliver Next-Generation Virtual Prototyping and Manufacturing Solutions within V5

New ESI Group CAA V5 based products will take major step toward realistic PLM simulation in the “Virtual Try-Out Space”

Paris, France – February 18, 2003 - Dassault Systèmes (Nasdaq: DASTY; Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) and ESI Group (Euronext Paris: #6584) today announced the signing of a CAA V5 (Component Application Architecture) strategic development agreement under which ESI Group will develop and sell its next generation solutions for Virtual Prototyping, Manufacturing and Environment using V5 middleware. As a result of this partnership, ESI Group will first focus on delivering within V5, multi-physics realistic simulation solutions for crashworthiness and stamping processes.

ESI Group is a world-leading provider of digital simulation software for prototype and manufacturing process engineering that takes into account the physics of materials critical for crash, safety, vibro-acoustics, stamping, casting, welding, flow and electromagnetics simulation. Under the terms of the agreement, ESI Group joins Dassault Systèmes’ Software Community Program as a CAA V5 Gold Software Partner.

ESI Group will benefit from the V5 environment to deploy its “Virtual Try-Out Space” (VTOS) strategy, a virtual engineering global solution that simulates manufacturing processes and the real-life performance of industrial products subjected to a wide range of phenomena in applied physics and mechanics. The availability of these advanced capabilities in the V5 product definition and associative environment will optimize product engineering, improve product performance and quality, and reduce design cycles.

“We are confident that Dassault Systèmes’ CAA V5 can guarantee the best environment to deliver our integrated Virtual Try-Out Space and its unique virtual manufacturing solution to the PLM marketplace. ESI Group’s extended product portfolio and V5 based solutions will enable on-line decision making by creating the ideal platform for product and process resource optimization. Chaining manufacturing processes and prototype testing simulation will turn the current digital mock-up into a realistic physical digital model, reducing time-consuming and expensive hardware prototyping”, says Alain de Rouvray, chairman and CEO of ESI Group.

“ESI Group’s endorsement of V5 is a new step forward in delivering the best realistic simulation portfolio available for all industries,” said Dominique Florack, Executive vice president Research and Development, Dassault Systèmes. “In addition, I believe that ESI Group’s innovative approach to multi-physics simulation complements very well existing V5 applications from Dassault Systèmes and our strategic partners.”

Dassault Systèmes is the premier global 3D PLM solutions provider. 3D PLM enables customers to optimize their business Processes for Engineering, Manufacturing, Maintenance & Support, using Collaborative Workspaces to share a common product, process and resource model (PPR). With PPR, companies can capture, share and reuse Knowledge all along the product life cycle. The open CAA V5 (Component Application Architecture) allows extension and integration of this solution within multiple enterprise environments.