SolidWorks to strengthen foothold

SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systemes company and a supplier of 3D CAD technology, has set in motions to its expansion plans in India.

This includes raising the India headcount both in R&D and sales & support, and partnering with educational institutions to train students in design and engineering competency and skills.

The company which has about 60 people in India, is raising its headcount by another 30 next one year, said Ved Narayan, SolidWorks vice president of Asia-Pacific operations.

"Our plan is when we reach a headcount of 90 in India, almost 80 of them will be in R&D and 10 in sales and marketing," he added. SolidWorks has R&D presence in Mumbai and Pune.

The US-headquarterd company has also announced to increase its reach in India from the present 12 cities to 20 cities by increasing the number of channel partners to 30 from the present 18.

"Our customers are at the core of our business and our value-added reseller (VAR) expansion plan is centered around our customers. We believe this is critical in helping our customers design better products and achieve the competitive edge," said Narayan.

SolidWorks has so far given about 6,000 software licenses in India that include 3,000 commercial licenses. The company which clocked a turnover of $300 million in FY2006, has over 3,000 customers in India including Godrej, Voltas, LG Equipment, Mico and Integral Coach Factory.

The Asia Pacific region including Japan presently contributes close to 25 per cent to the company's total revenue. India and China are the fastest growing market for the company in the region.

Meanwhile, the company has appointed Manoj Mehta as the country manager for India, to drive the expansion plans. Mehta has over 19 years of experience in direct sales, distribution, retail, and channel management at companies like Hewlett Packard and Philips.