CIMdata PLM Industry Summary Online Archive
14 March 2013
Acquisitions
Bentley Acquires topoGRAPH
Bentley Systems, Incorporated announced that it has acquired the business of Brazil-based Char*Pointer Tecnologia, including its topoGRAPH software for high-precision surveying, earthworks, and road and railway design. With this acquisition, Bentley extends its ability to address the tremendous opportunities in Brazil for creating the modern transportation system that this country’s rapidly expanding cities and industries demand. Last year, Brazil’s government announced measures to attract up to BRL 133 billion in private investment for road and rail projects – including upgrades for up to 10,000 kilometers of its rail network – and a BRL 54.2 billion public-private funding drive to modernize the country’s sea ports.
topoGRAPH is a perfect complement to Bentley’s civil engineering and transportation software for all phases of the infrastructure lifecycle – from data acquisition, surveying, planning, analysis, and conceptual design to modeling, construction, operations, and maintenance. Working smarter, together, Bentley and its new and talented colleagues from the Char*Pointer team can better provide the leading-edge technology needed to help engineers and contractors deliver the improved roads, bridges, and railways that Brazil requires.
Bentley COO Malcolm Walter said, “We are extremely impressed with the engineering talent, energy, and entrepreneurial zeal in Brazil, which the Char*Pointer team, led by Paulo Roncada, exemplifies. Our goal is to leverage Bentley’s 3D information modeling software and engineering collaboration solutions, along with our new colleagues’ expertise in surveying software and knowledge of local requirements, in addressing Brazil’s enormous need for a safer and more efficient transportation system to support its burgeoning economy.”
Walter continued, “The challenges Brazil faces in upgrading its roads are significant given that currently less than 20 percent of them are paved. And these challenges become all the more pressing with the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil and 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio just around the corner – which will attract millions of additional visitors to Brazil and its heavily congested roadway system. But Brazil can and, I believe, will resolve these challenges faster and more cost-effectively by leapfrogging other countries in using 3D information modeling to deliver higher-performing, more-resilient transportation infrastructure.”
Paulo Roncada, founder and former principal of Char*Pointer Tecnologia, and now Bentley director of simulation products, said, “My colleagues at Char*Pointer and I are excited about joining the Bentley team. Bentley’s breadth and depth of offerings, coupled with its global reach, will provide topoGRAPH users a rich array of complementary software and services for sustaining transportation and other infrastructure to fill out their tool sets, enhance the efficiencies of their workflows, and increase the quality of their deliverables.”
Alfredo Castrejón, Bentley vice president, Latin America, added, “We are pleased to welcome the Char*Pointer team to Bentley. We look forward to working with them in continuing to advance the innovative capabilities of the topoGRAPHproducts.”
He continued, “Going beyond organic growth in Brazil has always been a key part of Bentley’s vision, as it further enhances our ability to influence the creation and operation of infrastructure across the region, leading to better-performing, more sustainable roads, bridges, railways, plants, and more.”
Char*Pointer Tecnologia developed the topoGRAPH software to help civil engineers and other infrastructure professionals process survey data generated by total station instruments, laser scanning, and GPS devices. The software provides powerful tools for its users to create drawings and plans, analyze terrain models, calculate earthwork volumes, and to design roads and railways.
For additional information about Bentley’s new topoGRAPH product line, click here.
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