NMW 2003: Autodesk buying VIA Development, two software firms

Chicago, IL - Autodesk, Inc. (San Rafael, CA) announced today it has agreed to purchase certain assets of VIA Development Corp., the Marion, IN-based software firm. Autodesk also will acquire the assets of two other software companies - truEInnovations, Inc., and Linius Technologies, Inc.

By Control Engineering Staff March 4, 2003

Chicago, IL — Autodesk, Inc . (San Rafael, CA) announced today it has agreed to purchase certain assets of VIA Development Corp ., the Marion, IN-based software firm. Autodesk also will acquire the assets of two other software companies — truEInnovations, Inc ., and Linius Technologies, Inc .

The move advances Autodesk’s goal of delivering a comprehensive product lifecycle management (PLM) solution that meets the needs of mainstream manufacturing customers. The acquisitions will help Autodesk customers create accurate 3D models of both electrical and mechanical components of their products, document all of the systems inherent to these products, and manage and share design data inside the engineering workgroup and throughout its internal and external enterprise.

”This is a strategically important step in the delivery of a complete product lifecycle management solution to the mainstream market-the thousands of small- to medium-sized companies who want technology that is quick and easy to deploy, value-priced, and offers a very fast return on investment,” said Robert Kross, vice president of the Manufacturing Solutions Division at Autodesk. ”These technologies were selected for their strong synergy with our existing solutions, and this translates into a huge benefit for our customers.”

Each acquisition solves a different product development issue faced by Autodesk’s customers. VIA Development creates software to automate the process of generating wiring and other logical diagrams of machinery systems built upon AutoCADr based software, the tool of choice for many controls engineers.

truEInnovations develops file and data management software that is very tightly integrated into the Autodesk Inventorr software environment and is specifically created for small- to mid-sized companies whose only alternative has been expensive product data management software.

Linius is the leading independent supplier of cable and wire harness modeling automation solutions, enabling customers to improve performance and productivity by building virtual prototypes of cable and wire harness assemblies and automatically generating manufacturing documentation.

Control Engineering Daily News DeskJeanine Katzel, Web Editor jkatzel@reedbusiness.com