Structural Dynamics Research Corp says it is well and truly over the nightmares of 1994, and is looking to shore up its steady growth by creating and filling the post of president and chief operating officer. The Milford, Ohio-based mechanical design automation and product data management software company has announced a raft of what it considers major contract wins since last December, when it won a $200m contract with Ford Motor Co and its suppliers. It says it is now seeing steady growth, and wants to capitalize on that growth with the new management appointment. The president and chief operating officer will be responsible for stricter management of operations, beefing up product development and marketing, and communicating more with shareholders and Wall Street, the company said. 1994 was not a good year for Structural Dynamics. The company’s internal financial controls broke down, and an investigation uncovered irregularities in regard to sales purported to have been made through its Far East headquarters. (CI No 2,539). Auditors KPMG Peat Marwick LLP resigned, as did the senior vice president and chief financial officer Ronald Hoffman, vice president and controller Richard Lajoie, and chairman and chief executive Ronald Friedsam. The beleaguered company shed 120 jobs (CI No 2,541), and to top it all Ashlar Inc filed a patent infringement against the company for apparently using its user interface without a license. It says that is all behind it, and 1996 has seen a period of steady growth and consolidation. Apart from the Ford win, the company has announced a number of other big sales this year, including a $3.8m contract with Lockheed Martin Astronautics in May (CI No 2,913) and a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract last month with Xerox Corp and Fuji Xerox Co Ltd. In August, it finally won the patent infringement lawsuit brought by Ashlar, in a judgment that invalidated both of Ashlar’s patents. The company has employed executive search firm Lamalie Amrop International to find its new president. Current chief executive and president Albert Peter will assume the role of chairman and chief executive.
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