Tokyo, February 14, 2000 - ESI Group, a leading provider of virtual 
prototyping solutions, and Fujitsu Limited, a leading provider of 
parallel computing solutions, are strengthening their collaboration 
to develop ESI Group's range of technical simulation software, 
including PAM-CRASH for Crash Analysis and PAM-FLOW for Computational 
Fluid Dynamics, on the latest Fujitsu VPP Series supercomputers. This 
strategic partnership aims to deliver new capabilities and increased 
levels of accuracy and robustness to users working on the most 
sophisticated engineering problems, for instance in automotive and 
aeronautic design and optimization.
ESI Group will be using the VPP5000 supercomputer located at the 
newly announced Fujitsu Technical Computing Facility in Paris, which 
is managed by Fujitsu European Centre for Information Technology Ltd., 
headquartered in London, UK.  It will also use a Fujitsu VX multi-
processor system installed at PSI, a subsidiary of ESI Group. Herve 
Charlier, COO and Technical Director of PSI, welcomes the commitment 
demonstrated by Fujitsu in the creation of such a center in Europe: 
"Our clients use leading-edge parallel computing solutions from 
Fujitsu to solve some of the largest simulation tasks in engineering. 
It is critical to have fast and easy access to equivalent hardware to 
support our worldwide clients. Fujitsu's center in Paris offers the 
range of machines we require for testing and evaluation and, 
importantly, direct accesses to applications experts who can help us 
resolve problems and optimize our code. Close co-operation with key 
vendors like Fujitsu is essential for us to further enhance the 
parallel capabilities of our software and offer the maximum benefit 
to the end-user."
The Fujitsu VPP series vector parallel supercomputers are used by 
industrial customers worldwide, including automotive manufacturers, 
aeronautic laboratories, energy research laboratories, as well as 
scientific institutes. More than 30 VPP series systems have already 
been installed throughout Europe, of which two VPP5000 are operating 
in France at Meteo-France and CEA (Commissariat a l'Energie Atomique).
Successor to the VX/VPP300/VPP700 series, the VPP5000 is Fujitsu's 
newest vector-parallel supercomputer series. Based on a distributed-
memory system architecture, the VPP5000 can deliver highly-scalable 
performance with configurations ranging from a single processor up to 
a maximum of 512 processors. Each processor utilises the industry's 
most advanced low-power CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) 
technology LSIs and SDRAM memory units. The maximum performance of 
each processor - at 9.6 Gflops - is the world's fastest CMOS-based 
processor in a production system today. 
About ESI Group
ESI Group is a pioneer and leader in the field of virtual prototype 
testing, making physical testing obsolete at the design stages, while 
checking and improving products and processes. The company's key 
markets include the manufacturing, transportation, energy, and 
electronics sectors. Founded in 1973, the ESI Group employs 270 
people worldwide. ESI Group includes ESI, the consulting companies, 
PSI, Dynamic Software and Systus International, the providers of 
PAM-SYSTEM, OPTRIS and SYSWORLD software products. ESI Group operates 
offices in Europe (France, Germany, the Netherlands), Asia (Japan, 
Korea, Malaysia), and ESI Corporation in the United States. A global 
network of distributors provides sales and technical support to 
customers. Homepage: http://www.esi.fr
About Fujitsu Limited
Fujitsu Limited (TSE: 6702) is a leading provider of comprehensive 
information technology and network solutions for the global 
marketplace. Comprising over 500 group companies and affiliates 
worldwide -- including ICL, Amdahl and DMR Consulting Group -- the 
Fujitsu Group had consolidated revenues of 5.24 trillion yen 
($43.3 billion) in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1999. With world-
class hardware and software technology in computers, 
telecommunications and microelectronics, and a corps of 55,000 
systems and services experts around the world, Fujitsu is uniquely 
positioned to harness the power of the network to help its customers 
succeed. Altogether, the Fujitsu Group has 188,000 employees and 
operations in over 100 countries.
 
Homepage: http://www.fujitsu.com/ 
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for identification purpose only.