ESI Group and COMEX NUCLEAIRE collaborate to reduce design and operational costs

Paris, Franc – ESI Group (ESINFR0004110310), a pioneer and world-leading supplier of digital simulation software for prototyping and manufacturing processes, and COMEX NUCLEAIRE, major player in the nuclear intervention, announced today their 3-year partnership agreement, as of the second half of 2008. The agreement aims at developing a universal services offer available worldwide.

The objective is to support major industry leaders by offering them development solutions that combine COMEX NUCLEAIRE’s industrial and nuclear engineering services with ESI Group’s realistic digital simulation solutions.

This partnership will enable industry leaders to improve the performance of their various facilities by creating projects and tests virtually before starting the work, which is always a great consumer of resources.

COMEX NUCLEAIRE and ESI Group are also cooperating to meet the demands of research and development facilities such as ITER, an international project for fusion power. In addition, the two groups are collaborating on nuclear and industrial maintenance projects, such as the supply of replacement steam generators for French nuclear power plants.
"This agreement attests to the synergy of our fields of expertise and to the demonstrated effectiveness of our joint teams on several projects. It fully supports COMEX NUCLEAIRE’s strategy, which plans for international development and industrial diversification", declared Marc BRACHOTTE, Deputy General Manager at COMEX NUCLEAIRE.

"The projects carried out jointly with COMEX NUCLEAIRE’s teams have allowed us to assess ESI Group’s synergies with this global player on a human scale. The outcome is extremely positive as today we are launching a global long-term partnership. Our joint offer and a thorough knowledge of each other’s domains of expertise will allow us to benefit from our respective international positioning to further develop close connections with our customers", added Tomasz KISIELEWICZ, PhD., Executive Vice President of Global Projects and Engineering Services at ESI Group.


About COMEX NUCLEAIRE
In nearly 20 years, COMEX NUCLEAIRE emerged as a major player in the nuclear intervention, especially with EDF, which remains a key customer of the company.
COMEX NUCLEAIRE has put forward its expertise in maintenance and operational support, develop skills and build strategic partnerships to intervene in the entire lifecycle of nuclear facilities.
COMEX NUCLEAIRE is involved in the design and construction of facilities, maintenance and support to operators, as well as engineering and project management of dismantlement.
COMEX NUCLEAIRE has the label "builder" through its partnership with MITSUBISHI HEAVY INDUSTRIES.
Today, the company also offers ‘renewable energies’ regarding:
• The supply of turnkey power plants for electricity generation and cogeneration from waste heat, biomass and solar thermal,
• The supply of turnkey photovoltaic installations, mainly dedicated to the service industry.
Since 1999, COMEX NUCLEAIRE is a subsidiary of ONET TECHNOLOGIES.

In 2008, its average workforce is 300 people, more than 80% composed of engineers and technicians.
For further information, please turn to www.comex-nucleaire.com

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 products represent a unique collaborative and open environment for Simulation-Based Design, 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 NYSE Euronext Paris. For further information, visit www.esi-group.com.