The French Connection

Automotive Industries,  Feb, 2001  by Lora J. Bingham

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CAD/CAE/CAM software in the North American auto industry is taking on a distinctively French flavor. Who are these guys -- and what are the tools they can bring to your business?

There's a strikingly different red, white and blue flag flying in the Detroit suburbs these days, and it signals the arrival of a new wave of businesses -- from France. A growing supply base of French CAD/CAE/CAM software companies are establishing a strong presence in the North American auto industry. They're setting up shop in the Detroit suburbs to serve automotive OEM anti supplier clients -- all hungry for the most capable tools that can do anything from 3-D computer-aided design, engineering and manufacturing, to virtual plant and crash simulations, to evaluating plant ergonomics. To find out who is flying the tri-color, and what their services are, Automotive Industries recently visited several of these companies. Here's a snapshot of the new French Connection. C'est la CAD!

1. Delmia Corp.

5500 New King Street, Troy, Mich. 48098

(248) 267-9696 www.delmia.cam

Who they are: Delmia (Digital Enterprise Manufacturing Interactive Applications) is Dassault Systemes' brand for e-manufacturing.

What they do: Provide solutions for defining and simulating lean digital manufacturing and build-to-order processes. Product life cycle management -- from planning to production to finished product -- is accomplished in a 3-D virtual world. Process planning, cost calculation, factory layout, robotics, machining, factory simulation and even plant ergonomics are covered.

Vital statistics: Delmia was created by consolidating Deneb, Delta GmbH, Safework and their subsidiaries on June 7,2000. It has 20 offices, including four main branches in Detroit; Montreal; Feilbach, Germany; and Bangalore, India.

From the top: "Our presence is coming from a long wait and many years of investment in the CAD system, which is the Dassault Systemes' story. It's coming from the history, the past, the accumulation of this long-term partnership -- the development of skills -- which started with aerospace in France, then all of the aerospace industry. It's coming from all those past years and, really, the vision of Charles Edelstenne of making 3-D available to everybody everywhere in all industry segments. We have that same great story on the digital manufacturing side." Philippe Charles, CEO

2. ESI North America

13399 West Star, Shelby Township, Mich. 48315

(810)323-4810 www.esi.fr

Who they are: Known as the Virtual Try-Out Space Company, ESI North America is part of the ESI Group holding com pany for ESI, PSI and Systus international software and consulting companies.

What they do: Produce and support software suites, such as the popular PAM (programs in applied mechanics) series best known for PAM-CRASH. These virtual prototype testing packages reduce engineering costs by reducing the physical testing required in the design and process stages of product engineering.

Vital statistics: Created as a consulting company in 1973 by four Ph.D.s, ESI Group now has 16 offices worldwide including the one in Troy, Mich.

From the top: "If you're an engineer, as I am, you realize that Detroit is probably the engineering capital of the world. And it is for sure the automotive capital of the world. What we have to offer as a company is influencing future motor cars; and almost 50 percent of our business is in the automotive sector." Nigel Francis, COO

3. Radioss Consulting Corp.

26211 Central Park Blvd., Suite 518, Southfield, Mich. 48076

(248) 357-0657 www.radioss.com

Who they are: Radioss Consulting Corp. is part of Radioss Group, a software editor, distributor and consultancy for numerically-based mechanical engineering simulations.

What they do: Write the simulation software, sell the software licenses and act as a consultancy to aid customers. Radioss specializes in multiphysics-based finite domain software -- in other words, application specific. The company is also involved in the HUMOS project, which is seeking to create full human representation for virtual simulation application. Radioss claims to be the worldwide leader in automotive crash simulation software.

Vital statistics: Created in 1986 by two scientists under the banner of Mecalog Sarl, it now has offices in France, Germany, Japan, Italy, the U.K. and the U.S.

From the top: "We've been trying to male headway into the U.S. since the mid-1980s. The French are very scientific in their training; they have good mathematics skills and use them to develop very difficult, complex software. The U.S. wants that technology, as software is finally corning around to industry and manufacturing -- they're ready for it, but want more user-friendly systems, which are very complex. That's where our business is coming from." David Johnson, Technical Director

4. D2T America Inc.

21392 Carlo Drive, Clinton Twp., Mich. 48038

(810)465-7700 www.d2t.com

Who they are: D2T America is a subsidiary of Groupe D2T, an engine R&D and software application company.