ESI Group Announces Release of PAM-RTM 2008

ESI Group (ESIN FR0004110310)(Paris:ESI), a pioneer and
world-leading supplier of digital simulation software for prototyping
and manufacturing processes, announced today the release of version
2008 of its PAM-RTM (Resin Transfer Molding) simulation tool. First
released in 2002, PAM-RTM is a simulation software application for
manufacturing composites by injection or infusion. Industries served
by PAM-RTM are those typically requiring the manufacture of complex
and large composite parts, such as aeronautics, automotive, marine,
and energy.

ESI Group´s PAM-RTM software allows the design and development of
new tooling for composite materials production lines using ´closed
mold´ technology which allows parts of an enhanced quality and
appearance to be produced.

Release 2008 marks a major milestone in the evolution of PAM-RTM
with multiple enhancements, and effectively addresses current industry
challenges in three major areas, resulting in enhanced part
optimization:

Manufacturing Large Parts with Significantly Reduced CPU Time

New multi-layer elements now allow easier modeling of large parts.
The prismatic element requires far fewer total degrees of freedom,
thus resulting in significantly reduced CPU time; in some cases by a
factor of 9. Additionally, the availability of 64-bit processing
eliminates traditional processing constraints due to model size.

Manufacturing Thick Parts with Improved CPU Time

The new multi-layer elements in v2008 enable the user to simulate
the injection of thick parts without having to use standard
tetrahedral meshes, resulting in significant CPU time savings.

Manufacturing Complex Parts Easily Via New User Interface

Simulation complexity typically increases with shape and laminate
definitions. PAM-RTM 2008 eliminates this cumbersome basic operation
of defining specific zones for material definition. The new user
interface includes many new features and options allowing quick
generation of complex models through improved visualization, and also
includes new selection tools for groups.

"This new version of PAM-RTM brings a new vision for simulation.
Beyond a more user-friendly graphical user interface, PAM-RTM offers
new functionalities enabling a better representation of the process as
it happens on the shop floor," said Jean-Pierre Cauchois, Technical
Director of PPE (Pole de Plasturgie de l´Est, France), a leading
technology center in RTM and infusion. "For instance, the flow front
velocity representation gives added insight on part quality, a new
equivalent permeability module is very convenient and we expect a lot
from the new simulation time optimization," he continued.

"Optimizing part quality is now becoming a reality with PAM-RTM
2008," said Patrick de Luca, head of ESI Group´s Composite Materials
Solutions. "The ability to provide simulation tools that increasingly
optimize part quality is critical for the future. Achieving this
objective requires further improving the accuracy of simulations,
especially in the case of heated injection, which release v2008
accomplishes with its new thermal dispersion modeling capability," he
added.

About ESI Group

ESI Group is a world-leading supplier and pioneer of digital
simulation software for prototyping and manufacturing processes that
take into account the physics of materials. ESI Group has developed an
extensive suite of coherent, industry-oriented applications to
realistically simulate a product´s behavior during testing, to
fine-tune manufacturing processes in accordance with desired product
performance, and to evaluate the environment´s impact on product
performance. ESI Group´s offer represents a unique collaborative
solution with an open virtual engineering environment known as the
Virtual Try-Out Space, enabling virtual prototypes to be improved in a
continuous and collaborative manner while eliminating the need for
physical prototypes during product development. The company employs
over 700 high-level specialists worldwide covering more than 30
countries. ESI Group is listed in compartment C of Euronext Paris. For
further information, visit www.esi-group.com.