ESI named Company of the Year by the FACC

Recognizing outstanding accomplishments at fostering French-American trade.

Paris: ESI Group, pioneer and world-leading solution provider in virtual prototyping, announces that it is to be honored as “Company of the Year” by the Michigan Chapter of the French-American Chamber of Commerce (FACC), along with the U.S. automobile company Cadillac.

The FACC, a non-profit, member-driven organization, is dedicated to recognizing, promoting and fostering business relationships between the United States and France. Since 1996, the FACC Gala has honored companies that have contributed to the development of commerce between the two countries. The Michigan Chapter names two businesses each year, one French and one American, "Company of the Year."

The awards will be presented to ESI and to Cadillac at the FACC’s 2011 Annual Gala, one of the Detroit area’s premier black-tie business events, taking place on Friday, May 6, 2011 at the Book-Cadillac Hotel, in Detroit, Michigan. The gala will celebrate the legacy of Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac who set in motion a spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation in Michigan.

“The 2011 FACC Companies of the Year exemplify the best qualities of companies that are striving to increase trade and commerce between two great countries and, in doing so, promoting jobs and prosperity in Michigan,” said Robert A. Hudson, President of the Michigan chapter of the FACC and an attorney with Butzel Long.

Alain de Rouvray, ESI Group Chairman, co-founder and CEO declared, “I am truly honored to receive this prestigious recognition from the French-American Chamber of Commerce. This award salutes twenty-five years of earnest efforts and investments, with the generous dedication of our teams and the confident support of our lead US customers and partners to drive innovation for economic and social benefits. It causes me to recall our first success in the USA with the adoption of PAM-CRASH at General Motors to spur on vehicle crashworthiness by recourse to numerical simulation, and thereafter the continuous promotion of innovative solutions in Virtual Engineering for diverse disciplines and industrial sectors in Transportation, Aerospace, Energy, etc… It encourages us to pursue this endeavor with renewed vigor and collaborative spirit. Thank you very much.”