Bentley Systems has acquired the Axsys integrated process engineering solution product line from Aspen Technology. The acquisition broadens and strengthens Bentley's plant portfolio with proven plant design analysis, information management and plant maintenance applications.

The product line includes Axsys.Process, for use in the evaluation of front-end design alternatives; Axsys.Engine is a plant lifecycle data management tool that consolidates engineering schematic documents with project information into an integrated database environment; and Axsys.Integrity, which offers a risk-based inspection and planning solution for owner-operators to evaluate life extensions and plant maintenance.

The Axsys applications bring significant benefits to plant engineering procurement contractors (EPCs) as well as owner-operators. EPC benefits are highlighted by what-if design iterations and the ability to interchange process simulation and design data in a common environment. Owner-operators gain lifecycle information management for all engineering disciplines, increased manageability of assets, and improved data use and re-use capabilities over the life of the project or facility. Overall, the managed environment for the plant lifecycle is broadened.

"This acquisition galvanises Bentley's leadership position in the plant marketplace with a true data-centric solution to manage technical asset information over the entire plant lifecycle," says Dr Jeff Hollings, senior vice president, Bentley Plant. "We are excited about this expansion of our managed environment and are committed to providing effective solutions that deliver recurring value for the broadest user base in the industry."

This is the latest step in a series of acquisitions by Bentley to realise the vision of a complete lifecycle solution for the plant market that allows organisations to operate in a managed environment. The Bentley plant portfolio spans MicroStation, PlantSpace, the ProjectWise collaboration servers, eWarehouse from ESSI, the AutoPLANT product line from Rebis, and now the Axsys applications. Earlier this year, Daratech reported that in the plant market, Bentley is the leading vendor to owner-operators and the leader in plant-specific software platforms.

Users of Axsys include EDF (Electricité de France), Royal Dutch/Shell Group, Mitsubishi Chemical Co, Sasol and Petro SA (the old Mossgas). Bentley will support existing and new users with updates, upgrades, and new releases. A core group of employees from the Axsys team at AspenTech have joined Bentley to provide continuity in the development and support of the Axsys applications.

For more information contact Bentley Systems SA, 011 462 5811, www.bentley.com