Simufact Engineering GmbH and SMS Meer GmbH sign technology partnership

Forming simulation software Simufact.forming to be used at SMS Meer GmbH

Hamburg, Germany, October 5th, 2009 – Simufact Engineering GmbH, a leading provider of software and services in the area of bulk metal forming and SMS Meer GmbH, one of the worldwide leading suppliers in the construction of plants for processing steel and non-ferrous metals, today announced their partnership to further develop forming process technology.

SMS Meer will use Simufact.forming, the software for simulating manufacturing processes, to support this initiative. The software covers all areas of bulk metal forming simulation:
• realistic model creation - considering as many physical influences as possible
• increased process knowledge
• "virtual proving ground" to reduce physical tests and parameter studies
• process optimization (shortened process chains etc.)
• error- and damage analysis

SMS Meer has chosen Simufact.forming after an extensive benchmark, in which they confirmed that Simufact’s software family met the company’s requirements for the optimization of forming processes best. The benchmark included in detail forming simulation of pipes and large-diameter pipes, profile simulations and others.

"We are excited about the new technology partnership with SMS Meer GmbH," said Michael Wohlmuth, managing director, Simufact Engineering GmbH. "Both companies will benefit from this partnership, but the main advantage is on our customer's side – they can now rely on an even more robust and realistic simulation of forming processes. Together with SMS Meer we are in the position to drive technology improvements and we will offer a closer industry relation, while extending our technological leadership in the market."

"Our goal was to centralize and unify the simulation activities in our organization," said Christian Zins, Director Corporate Communications, SMS Meer GmbH. "With Simufact we will be able to bundle our activities. The software environment itself as well as Simufact’s know-how as a company has helped to convince us, that we found the right partner. We are very much looking forward to our future collaboration with Simufact."

About the Simufact product family
Within the Simufact software environment, the user can access different application modules for different production areas. The Simufact Environment includes different software modules, among others Simufact.forming, the module for forming simulation, which has a modular system to be combined individually for every need. Simufact.forming integrates the products MSC.SuperForm and MSC.SuperForge, formerly developed and distributed by MSC.Software and is based on the standards of the MSC.Marc and MSC.Dytran solver technology.

About SMS Meer
SMS Meer, headquartered in Mönchengladbach, Germany, is one of the worldwide leading suppliers for the construction of plants for steel and non-ferrous metal processing. The company covers a broad spectrum ranging from single machines to entire plants. The performance portfolio includes planning, funding, engineering, manufacturing, installation, implementation and service, all from one source. SMS Meer is not only a high-performance partner for piping, hydraulic presses, copper and aluminum plants and the whole spectrum of roll forming technologies, but also for die-forging and ring rolling installations as well as plants for induction and heating technologies.

About Simufact Engineering GmbH
The Hamburg, Germany based Simufact Engineering GmbH supports its customers as a solution provider for production technology, offering optimization and production process design by process simulation. In addition, Simufact Engineering GmbH provides optimization of formed parts through structural analysis. With Simufact.forming, Simufact Engineering GmbH generates and markets a global industry solution for metal forming. The company also specializes in service, offering individual solutions to customers’ production problems using state-of-the-art CAE tools. Training and technical support for software use complete Simufact’s offerings. Simufact customers come from all areas of bulk metal forming technology: forging, cold massive forming, rolling, sheet metal forming and mechanical joining. For more information, please visit www.simufact.com.

Simufact is trademark or registered trademark of Simufact GmbH. MSC.Software, MSC.Dytran and MSC.Marc are trademarks or registered trademarks of MSC.Software Corporation in the USA and/or other countries. All other trademarks belong to their respective owners.