Kit media
The French Transvalor and the American NW Numerics (North West Numerics and Modeling) are getting closer around the Z-set software suite, a reference technology for industrial modeling.
Transvalor, a leader in the simulation of shaping and structural analysis of materials, becomes the owner of this pioneering technology alongside Armines and Onera. Until then, the company was their distributor. From now on, the French publisher is not only the exclusive worldwide distributor but also co-owner of the Z-set code.
Developed in the mid-1980s, the Z-set software suite is a set of digital tools dedicated to the mechanics of materials and the calculation of structures with non-linear behavior.
Co-developed by Onera, the Materials Center (Mines ParisTech) and NW Numerics, this calculation code has been distributed exclusively since 1999 by Transvalor.
For insiders, Z-set integrates various add-ons, such as a finite element solver, a material behavior law library or an optimizer to determine parameters from test data. In addition, many recent developments have been made in the fields of fracture mechanics and high-performance and multimodal computing.
Return to the French fold, land of origin
"Our core business," explains Nikolay Osipov, head of the Z-set team at Transvalor, "consists of building a 3D modeling, simulation and analysis system in materials and structural mechanics based on scientific code. This allows our industrial customers to size their most critical parts.
Among other things, we are working on interfaces that facilitate the integration of our software into industrial multiphysics calculation chains that are increasingly complex today. This is how the scientific line of code becomes industrial software and a commercial success.
Through our developments we contribute to the safety of nuclear power plants, to the lightening of the weight of cars, to the energy performance of aircraft engines... »
Today, Z-set software is used in industrial processes all over the world. Indeed, Transvalor counts among its customers leading companies from North America to Japan and all of continental Europe.
Transvalor becomes co-owner of Z-set
In 2015, ownership of the code was split between its European (Armines and Onera) and American (Ronald Foerch, founder of NorthWest Numerics and Modeling – NWNM) authors.
NWNM then developed its own version of Z-set. From that date, NWNM and Transvalor each distribute the code worldwide in their respective territories.
"We had jointly noted the need for consolidation ," says Stéphane Heitz, CEO of Transvalor. It seemed obvious that being able to join forces would be a benefit to serve our customers at best and with the best solution, resulting from the fusion of everyone's developments. »
It is in this context that NWNM and Transvalor have come together for a transfer of Z-set's economic rights. In doing so, Transvalor becomes not only the exclusive worldwide distributor, but also the owner of the Z-set base code with its French partners Armines and Onera.
Thus, the technology is reintegrating the French scientific community from which it was born forty years ago, while a strong partnership is established with NWNM to best serve Transvalor's future American customers.
"This reappropriation of the code will allow us to help our client companies and partners to be more efficient in optimizing their industrial processes with the aim of energy transition and sobriety," says Stéphane Heitz. We aim to be able to offer them a complete solution, from the simulation of the raw material they use for the development of their materials of the future to the resistance of manufactured products to the most critical conditions. The acquisition of the American version of Z-set and its merger with the French version are a key part of Transvalor's development and are fully in line with the French company's strategic plan, which is already showing double-digit growth.
Key figures
- 2021 revenue: €10.3 million (+18% compared to 2020)
- Z-set revenue growth in 2021: +90%
- Z-set is present in 16 countries
- 38 years of activity and international influence
