Cadcentre Group Plc, the Cambridge, UK-based design software supplier to the process and power industries, says it will shift the emphasis from its 2D/3D software to focus on its engineering customers. It claims it can pitch a far more lucrative package to the world’s top chemical companies in an attempt to get them to base their whole IT environment around its software. It says that its software is only used by about 20% of the top 200 chemical companies and claims vast growth prospects if it can offer the right software mix.
A major step in this direction was taken in September when it bought Scope, a suite of project management tools from construction group Kvaerner ASA for 1.7m pounds ($2.8m) (CI No 3,749). Now the company expects to announce shortly the purchase of a data warehousing package that will complete the range of its product offerings.
Cadcentre’s move to offering a far broader base of software was driven by a realization that, while it has been successful in kicking sand in the face of struggling competitor Intergraph Corp, it is only meeting a fraction of the needs of its customers. The design process accounts for a mere 5% of the cost of building a major plant.
