LEUVEN MINDGATE

LMS expands development centers and commercial operations in Europe and Asia


Leuven, Belgium - November 4, 2005 - LMS, the leading engineering innovation company, today announced the creation of a new Eastern European engineering and software development center in Romania, the opening of a new commercial subsidiary in Singapore and additional offices for its sales activities in China. The opening of the new offices complements a considerable expansion of LMS' headquarters office and development center in Leuven, Belgium, and the recent opening of new offices in Munich, Lyon and Moscow. The extensions are part of the continued international expansion strategy of LMS and will further strengthen the company's capabilities to deliver top-class engineering software and services. Over the next 2 to 3 years, LMS expects to expand its total number of employees to over 800.

To support the expansion of its software and systems development activities in the area of virtual prototype simulation and physical testing, LMS initiated a considerable extension of its headquarters facilities in Leuven, Belgium. The new office provides an additional 3300 square meters and will allow LMS to expand its Leuven-based staff from 350 to 400 employees over the next 2 to 3 years.

Next to the extension of the headquarter facilities, LMS recently created a new engineering and software development center in Brazov, Romania. By the end of 2007, LMS plans to recruit a team of over 50 engineers in its Eastern European competence center. "We created the new subsidiary in Romania to take optimal advantage of the extensive availability of top-quality engineers in Eastern Europe at very affordable conditions", commented Urbain Vandeurzen, Chairman and CEO of LMS. "With a current yearly R&D budget of 25 million Euro, LMS is strongly committed to developing innovative technologies. The new team will further support the steady growth of our R&D capacity in our five other development locations in Europe and the US. It will play a key role in accelerating our software development activities and in expanding our engineering services capabilities."

Building on the company's already impressive growth in South-East Asia, LMS decided to extend its current network of fully owned operations and representative offices in Asia with a new subsidiary in Singapore. The new Singapore office will become a regional hub to support LMS' indirect sales channels in the South-East Asia region. In China, in addition to its Beijing office, LMS is also adding two new offices in Shangai and Guanzhou. The new offices are intended to increase the regional coverage of LMS in the booming Chinese market for engineering software and services. Overall, the growth in the Asian market, and the strong presence of LMS in Europe and the US, deliver a well-balanced revenue spread for the company: 42% in Europe, 36% in Asia and 22% in North America. With the addition of new sales offices, LMS now operates from 18 direct sales offices and 25 representative offices worldwide.

"Over the past decade, LMS has been steadily investing in Asia and building successful subsidiaries in Japan, Korea, India and China," commented Urbain Vandeurzen. "These new investments in additional sales and support offices will undoubtedly make Asia the strongest growth and revenue contributor for LMS in the next years to come."

About LMS
LMS is an engineering innovation partner for companies in the automotive, aerospace and other advanced manufacturing industries. LMS enables its customers to get better products faster to market, and to turn superior process efficiency to their strategic competitive advantage. LMS delivers a unique combination of virtual simulation software, testing systems, and engineering services. We are focused on the mission critical performance attributes in key manufacturing industries, including structural integrity, handling, safety, reliability, comfort and sound quality. Through our technology, people and over 25 years of experience, LMS has become the partner of choice for most of the leading discrete manufacturing companies worldwide. LMS, a Dassault Systèmes Gold Partner, is certified to ISO9001:2000 quality standards and operates through a network of subsidiaries and representatives in key locations around the world.

More information
Bruno Massa - LMS International
Tel.: +32 16 384 200
E-mail: bruno.massa@lms.be

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