AspenTech Opens Major Office and Product Development Facility in Shanghai to Support Growth in Asia Pacific Region
CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2006-- Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ: AZPN), the leading provider of software and services to the process industries, today announced the opening of a major office facility in Shanghai, China. The office enables AspenTech to enhance support of its expanding customer base in China, and provides the company with a first-class Research & Development (R&D) facility and highly-skilled staff to accelerate its growth plans in the Asia Pacific region and around the world.
The new office, located in the Zhangjiang High-Tech Zone in Shanghai's Pudong district, currently houses 70 employees, including both Sales and R&D staff. Along with the R&D facility that includes a central product testing laboratory, the 1200 square meter facility has a dedicated Solutions Center for customer support and training, featuring integrated aspenONE solutions and key partner technologies.
The office, which becomes AspenTech's regional headquarters for Asia Pacific, was opened today in a ceremony attended by key AspenTech customers including Sinopec, PetroChina and CNOOC, along with strategic partners Microsoft and Accenture. Mark Fusco, AspenTech's President and CEO, delivered welcome remarks and inaugurated the office.
"The opening of our Shanghai office demonstrates AspenTech's commitment to our customers and partners both in China and in the Asia Pacific region as a whole," said Fusco. "The process industries continue to fuel the expansion of the Chinese economy, and our new facility will help us to respond more quickly to opportunities in this dynamic marketplace. With strong customer relationships already in place, we fully expect that Asia Pacific will be a significant growth market for AspenTech during the next decade.
"The new Shanghai R&D facility provides AspenTech with greatly expanded product development and quality assurance capabilities to support our aspenONE product strategy," added Fusco. "With access to a growing pool of highly skilled engineers and development specialists from amongst the best universities in China, the Shanghai operation is ideally placed to accelerate the delivery of high-quality aspenONE solutions to the process industry, and to ensure that these solutions maintain AspenTech's tradition of leadership in technology and customer value. At the same time, the new facility will produce a team of local experts proficient in AspenTech's entire portfolio of best-in-class applications and solutions. These experts will enable AspenTech to better understand and address the local requirements as well as to help Chinese and Asia Pacific customers to deploy our applications and solutions in the most effective and creative manner."
AspenTech has been working with process industry companies in China for over 20 years, establishing its first formal collaboration with China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (Sinopec) in 1993. This relationship has strengthened in recent years, as demonstrated by the 2002 long-term agreement between the companies to implement a range of AspenTech's manufacturing and supply chain solutions as part of Sinopec's drive to increase operational efficiency and enhance competitiveness.
About AspenTech
Aspen Technology, Inc. provides industry-leading software and professional services that help process companies improve efficiency and profitability by enabling them to model, manage and control their operations. AspenTech's integrated aspenONE(TM) solutions are aligned with the key industry business processes, providing manufacturers the capabilities they need to optimize operational performance, make real-time decisions and synchronize the plant and supply chain. Over 1,500 leading companies already rely on AspenTech's software, including Bayer, BASF, BP, Chevron Corporation, DuPont, ExxonMobil, Fluor, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi-Aventis, Shell, and Total. For more information, visit www.aspentech.com.
This press release may contain forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may vary significantly from AspenTech's expectations based on a number of risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation: AspenTech's plan to improve operational performance may not be implemented effectively; AspenTech has identified material weaknesses in its internal controls with respect to software license revenue recognition and other matters, that, if not remedied effectively, could result in material misstatements; risks around securities litigation and investigations; AspenTech's lengthy sales cycle makes it difficult to predict quarterly operating results; fluctuations in AspenTech's quarterly operating results; AspenTech's dependence on customers in the cyclical chemicals, petrochemicals and petroleum industries; the possibility of new accounting standards or the interpretation of existing accounting standards affecting our financial results; AspenTech's ability to raise additional capital as required; intense competition; AspenTech's need to develop and market products successfully; reliance on relationships with strategic partners; challenges associated with international operations; and other risk factors described from time to time in AspenTech's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AspenTech cannot guarantee any future results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements. AspenTech expressly disclaims any current intention to update forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.
AspenTech, aspenONE, and the aspen leaf logo are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.
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