Bentley Advances Plant Interoperations and Innovation Sharing at daratechPLANT2007.

HOUSTON -- Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced today at daratechPLANT2007 several developments that combine to improve enterprise interoperations and the sharing and delivery of design innovations throughout distributed enterprises.

First, the company has acquired Design Power and KIWI Software, whose respective PlantWise and ProSteel products deepen the unique lifecyle span of Bentley's DigitalPlant portfolio for unprecedented integration within front-end engineering design (FEED) and of detailing for fabricators.

Also, at daratechPLANT, Bentley is demonstrating several advances for interoperations provided by its DigitalPlant solutions, including: knowledge-enabled FEED processes (AXSYS, PlantWise); integrated pipe stress and structural analysis (AutoPIPE, STAAD); and visual collaboration for construction (ProjectWise Navigator). The business process improvements these advances enable motivate Bentley's continued commitment to ISO 15926 and other key information standards.

Said Charles Foundyller, president and CEO of Daratech, Inc., "Bentley, through its product development and strategic acquisitions, is assembling a growing palette of integrated solutions for plant creation that spans simulation, engineering, fabrication, and construction. What I really like about their strategy is that they are making their software interoperable and appear to be sincerely supporting key industry standards.

"In particular, the Design Power and KIWI Software acquisitions further extend Bentley's DigitalPlant portfolio by bridging the information gaps between simulation and engineering, and from engineering to fabrication and construction - something users have been requesting for a long time."

Design Power brings a knowledge-based solver that can be universally applied to existing work processes and design environments to interactively optimize facility designs. Its proven application in PlantWise applies general and user-specific piping design criteria to iteratively yield superior engineering and economic productivity. KIWI Software's ProSteel is a leading application for steel detailing, now providing users with the opportunity to engineer direct for fabrication.

Said CEO Greg Bentley, "These two acquisitions are strategic because they enable us to achieve breakthroughs in the interoperations benefits we strive to deliver. Rich, bi-directional information sharing among multiple disciplines and multiple phases results in benefits well beyond faster design - look for improved plant quality, safety, economics, and sustainability."

Mr. Bentley continued, "Over the past few years, I've seen a change in the projects we serve, driven by the pressure on engineering resources, towards more creative distribution of work through the currency of digital work packages. Our flexible and open solutions enable these distributed enterprises to naturally interoperate and organically innovate. With the IT environment encouraging and leveraging - rather than inhibiting - creativity and inventiveness, the result is multiplied effectiveness of limited engineering resources."

Bentley's daratechPLANT demonstrations include:

1. Knowledge-enabled FEED processes - a new solution for FEED that interoperates with process simulation packages to produce process flow diagrams and initial P&IDs with AXSYS, and conceptual 3D layouts with Bentley's new Design Power PlantWise tools, applying rules-based engineering towards an optimum design up front, without the overhead of detailed piping systems and setup;

2. Integrated pipe stress and structural analysis - new functionality in Bentley's engineering analysis tools for seamless integration between STAAD and AutoPIPE, enhancing the engineering workflow and productivity by combining structural and piping analysis to arrive at the optimal piping and supporting structure;

3. Visual collaboration for construction - introducing ProjectWise Navigator, the first visual collaboration client for design review and analysis, plus work packaging, that fully supports iterative workflows and reuse of all enriched content throughout that process. ProjectWise Navigator provides powerful collaboration and enrichment capabilities across all lifecycle stages, including: reviewing projects and designs in an immersive and visual environment; analyzing and simulating construction schedules and assessing buildability; and producing intelligent, portable, and linked work packages for construction and operations.

Many of Bentley's demonstrations feature innovative workflows that add value around PDS, Intergraph's 3D piping application for MicroStation.

Engineering News-Record Reception

For the fifth straight year, Bentley is pleased to sponsor a reception at daratechPLANT that honors the Engineering News-Record (ENR) Top Design Firms. Of the 34 Top Design Firms attending the conference this year: 34 are Bentley subscribers, 32 use Bentley DigitalPlant applications, 17 use Bentley's ProjectWise collaboration system, and 14 are Bentley Enterprise License Subscribers.

Among these firms is Bechtel Corporation, which, as noted in a separate news release, is using Bentley's ProjectWise system for collaboration on the Jamnagar Export Refinery Project (JERP) in India. In both scope and complexity, the project rivals many of Bechtel's previous exceptional accomplishments, including Hoover Dam, the Channel Tunnel, and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. JERP has a plot plan bigger than that of London and a target completion time of less than 36 months.

Bentley 2006 Performance

At the reception, Greg Bentley noted that the company's revenues now surpass $400 million annually. He added, "Our Enterprise License Subscriptions were at record numbers last year, increasing by 30 to reach the milestone of 100 ELS subscriber organizations, further testifying to the fact that this innovative commercial package is ideal for globally distributed enterprises."

The Bentley Enterprise License Subscription (ELS) program grants organizations unlimited access to the entire ELS software portfolio for a fixed annual fee. New plant subscribers in 2006 included Alcan, Ausenco, DuPont, Giprotyumenneftegaz, GS Engineering & Construction, Intel, JFE Engineering, Liaoning Electric Power Survey and Design Institute, Lycopodium Engineering Pty Ltd, Petrobras Petroleo Brasileiro SA, Sinclair Knight Merz Pty Limited, Southern Company Services, Toshiba Plant Systems & Services Corporation, VECO, and Y&V Ingenieria y Construccion.

About Bentley

Bentley Systems, Incorporated provides software for the lifecycle of the world's infrastructure. The company's comprehensive portfolio for the building, plant, civil, and geospatial verticals spans architecture, engineering, construction (AEC) and operations. With revenues now surpassing $400 million annually, and more than 2000 colleagues around the world, Bentley is the leading provider of AEC software to the Engineering News-Record Top 500 Design Firms and major owner-operators and was named the world's No. 2 provider of GIS/geospatial software solutions in a recent Daratech research study.

To receive Bentley press releases as they are issued, visit www.bentley.com/bentleywire. For more information, visit www.bentley.com. To view a copy of Bentley's May 2006 Annual Report online, go to www.bentley.com/May2006annualreport.

Bentley, the "B" logo, Design Power, KIWI Software, AXSYS, AutoPIPE, STAAD, ProjectWise, ProSteel, ProjectWise Navigator, PlantWise, DigitalPlant, and Enterprise License Subscription are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.