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from the editor -
Finally! Refreshing news
 Recently,
I attended the Daratech Summit 2002 conference in New York City. It was
well attended by technology leaders who now tout product lifecycle management
(PLM) products and strategies. Whether you buy into this latest buzzword
or not, I came away feeling much more confident about the state of our
industry and the state of our economy. The reason? Presentations, in particular,
by Bernard Charlès of Dassault Systemes, Carol Bartz of Autodesk, and
Tony Affuso of EDS. They gave positive, uplifting commentaries about industry
growth, profits, and new technologies that are helping to spur their businesses,
and, more importantly, provide customers with innovative solutions to
develop new products at record-breaking speed while reducing manufacturing
costs and expensive prototypes. This is extraordinary good news for everyone
served by these companies, their suppliers, and partners.
While the worldwide technology marketplace has experienced
a rough road over the last 18 months, these three industry leaders envision
a brighter future for everyone as we move forward into 2002 and beyond.
In addition, Mark Goldstein, president and CEO of HKS, developer of worldclass
ABAQUS CAE software and a Moldflow partner, announced his resolve at Daratech
Summit 2002 to "take the wraps off" the company's quiet history. He provided
statistics that showed stellar growth since the company's 1978 inception,
as well as its recent news to partner with LMS and Dassault Systemes.
More collaboration among vendors can only make the user workplace a friendlier,
easier-to-innovate environment.
Even though Moldflow was not part of the Daratech Summit 2002 event, its
latest news is just as encouraging. Company president and CEO Marc Dulude
recently reported that the company's financial results for the second
quarter of fiscal 2002 were encouraging. He said, "We entered this quarter
with good visibility into our business and were able to close a high percentage
of our sales opportunities. We were particularly pleased with the order
flow for our Manufacturing Solutions products, which comprised 17% of
our software product revenues this quarter. These products, which yield
significant and rapid returns, present a compelling value proposition
to injection molders who are seeking strategic advantages to remain competitive
during this time of economic uncertainty."
In addition, this week financial guru Alan Greenspan announced that the
global economy is beginning to turn around. I must believe that these
technological and financial events and others to come will help our industry
start to climb back to market profitability, calmer, more confident investors,
and a bullish Wall Street. And, while it may be a little too early to
toast to a new economy, I am confident that we can all rest easier, anticipate
a brighter future, and confidently begin to consider reinvesting in profitable
companies. We salute development and management teams everywhere that
are committed to generating new products that exceed customer expectations
as the economy moves back to a more stable, energetic state.
Certainly, Moldflow is taking the lead among leading software providers.
This issue reveals how the company is offering innovative training and
certification classes to help users become more productive and marketable.
We describe the company's newest technologies, as well as detail customer
testimonials as more competitive enterprises as a result of implementing
the company's software. In addition, we believe in education — teaching
university students the merits of using state of the art plastic simulation
software as it relates to real-world applications before they enter the
workplace. Case in point: we think you'll be impressed reading how Penn
State University is using Moldflow technology in the classroom as an integral
teaching tool. Students there are enthusiastic users who are realizing
that the software will help them secure promising jobs that build upon
lessons learned in the classroom.
Again, please send us your Moldflow software tips and techniques, questions,
comments, and offers to act as customer testimonials. Send them to me
at laura_carrabine@moldflow.com.
I look forward to meeting with you at the 2002 International Moldflow
User Group Conference as this issue unfolds.
Best Regards,
Laura Carrabine
Editor
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