Bentley and Jacobus unveil PlantSpace; Plant engineering environment first to feature an open-systems approach and unify the design and operation of process facilities.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 16, 1996--Bentley Systems Inc. and Jacobus Technology, Inc., today at the Daratech 1996 Plant Design/Plant Management Automation Strategy Workshops, unveiled their new PlantSpace (TM) product.

This plant engineering environment is the first to feature an open-systems approach and to unify the automation behind the design and operation of process facilities. Overall, PlantSpace reduces redundancy, streamlines plant lifecycles, and upgrades plant automation for plant designers, owners, and operators.

PlantSpace consists of four interoperable series: the Engineering Series, the Plant Design Series, the Drafting Series, and the Integration series. The first three series allow users to enter and manage conceptual and schematic plant representations, parametric 3D models, and detailed plant drawings. The Integration Series provides for the integration, querying, and visualization of plant information. The open-systems approach of this module based on MicroStation (R) and Jspace (TM) object technology allows users to incorporate and unify all plant information and systems, including enterprise-wide data and tools from other sources.

Bentley director, Rebecca Ward, comments, "The proprietary, closed nature of existing plant design systems has resulted in non-integrated, incomplete tools for the plant lifecycle. Plant designers, owners, and operators are frustrated in their attempts at creating a total solution." Ward continues, "PlantSpace provides powerful tools for the total lifecycle plus an open-systems approach to integrate and unify all aspects of plant design and operation including existing systems."

PlantSpace is based on proven and widely-used technology from three industry-leading sources: the MicroStation products from Bentley, JSpace object technology from Jacobus Technology, Inc., and the 3DM (TM) plant design and WalkThru (TM) animation products from Bechtel Corporation. Proven on hundreds of projects on plants of all sizes, the technologies were brought to PlantSpace last summer as part of a trilateral agreement.

Kathey Hale, senior analyst at market research firm Dataquest, comments that the agreement and the associated PlantSpace product "makes Bentley a serious contender in the increasingly competitive plant design business."

Dave Burdick, vice president at industry consultant Gartner Group, notes that the developments allow Bentley and Jacobus to "better-establish a stable leadership position in the market."

Already, PlantSpace has been licensed by Air Products, an international supplier of industrial gases and related equipment with sales approaching $4 billion. With an existing investment of over 200 MicroStation seats, Air Products purchased a worldwide license of PlantSpace integration and visualization technology which will be used in all phases of the plant lifecycle.

More on the PlantSpace Modules

The Engineering Series addresses the many engineering requirements of the plant lifecycle: conceptual design, detailed design, start-up, and operations. Its primary tools provide for creation and maintenance of the many schematic representations of the plant, including P&IDs and existing drawings.

The Plant Design Series provide a powerful range of 3D modeling applications for piping, pipe supports, equipment, structural steel, concrete, HVAC ductwork, electrical cable tray, and electrical conduit. The 3D modeling is parametric, knowledge-based, and supports multiple simultaneous users. Other applications include interference detection, animation, design review, drawing production, construction sequencing, and bills of material.

The Integration Series includes applications and development tools that unify all plant information and systems, including existing data and tools. The Series is built on the JSpace technology, the leading technology for data integration in plant engineering. JSpace allows users to work with "intelligent" drawings, to incorporate engineering and business rules into their plant automation, and to integrate computer-aided design applications, database systems, and scheduling tools.

PlantSpace supports a full range of PC and workstation platforms including Windows (TM), Windows 95, Windows NT (TM) for Intel-based and DEC Alpha AXP computers, HP RISC, and SGI computers.

Each PlantSpace Series offers products that can be purchased separately. Prices for the Engineering Series range from $2,950 for schematic capability to $3,450 for piping & intelligent drawings. Prices for the Plant Design Series range from $2,250 for interference management to $6,450 for the isometric production environment. Prices for the Drafting Series range from $950 for isometric drafting to $3,450 for data capture via photographs or drawings. Prices for the Integration Series range from $950 for CAD interfaces to $14,450 for the full software development toolkit. PlantSpace is covered under MicroStationCSP (SM), Bentley's comprehensive support program for users.

For more information on PlantSpace, or other Bentley products or services, please contact your local MicroStation VAR or Bentley at 1-800-BENTLEY, [phone] (US), [phone] (Europe), [phone] (Asia), via e-mail at [e-mail], or through the World Wide Web at http://www.bentley.com/.

More on Bentley

Bentley Systems, Inc. is a worldwide leader in engineering software products, user services, and overall quality. The company now serves over 200,000 professionals in building/plant engineering, GeoEngineering, and mechanical engineering. Its MicroStation products are proven at over 70% of the largest U.S. engineering firms and are the software foundation behind the engineering of well-known buildings, facilities, highways, bridges, maps, and industrial plants throughout the world. Founded in 1984, Bentley has now become one of the world's fastest growing software companies.

More on Jacobus Technology

Jacobus Technology, Inc., a Bentley Strategic Affiliate, provides software products and services to the architectural, engineering, construction, and plant operations communities, and serves the process and energy industries. Jacobus focuses on 3D computer-aided design, animation, project management, and information management applications, addressing all phases of a project life cycle.

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MicroStation is a registered trademark; Bentley and PlantSpace are trademarks; and MicroStationCSP is a service mark of Bentley Systems, Inc. JSpace is a trademark of Jacobus Technology, Inc. 3DM and WalkThru are trademarks of Bechtel Corporation. Windows and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.

CONTACT: Michelle Allard

Boston Communications

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