Software for better Design

Reichstagskuppel, Berlin (German Parliament Building) · Client: Bundesbaugesellschaft Berlin mbH · Structural Design: Leonhardt, Andrä und Partner · Architects: Lord Norman Foster · Photo: Thinkstock

Title: Neue Ziegelgrabenbrücke (Bridge from Stralsund to the Island of Ruegen, Germany) · Client: DEGES · Tender Design: Ingenieurgesellschaft Schüßler Plan · Structural Design: Planungsgemeinschaft SSF Ingenieure AG · Büchting und Streit AG · Photo: Florian Schreiber Fotografie

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Our Partners

Mission

As an attractive employer SOFiSTiK develops innovative

products of outstanding quality.

Our team of structural engineers and draughtsman is

working very closely with our computer scientists and other

engineers.

Our customers profit from a fast and individual solution to

efficiently realize demanding projects.

Our products are designed for practical application in

structural and civil engineering. They are easy to operate

efficiently with a broad range of functionality that is opti mally

tailored to everyday as well as exceptional engineering

tasks.

Vision

SOFiSTiK is Europe’s leading software developer for analysis,

design and detailing of construction projects worldwide.

Outstanding Quality plays a decisive role in the develop-

ment of SOFiSTiK products.

Our state of the art Software is always one step ahead

of the market. The modular design allows an optimal adap-

tation to customer specific requirements.

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1974 1976 1982

Under the guidance of Prof. Heinrich

Werner at the Technical University of

Munich, a research project with Joachim

Stieda and Casimir Katz was set up to

create a computer program called “TOP”

for the non-linear analysis of bridge piers.

In 1976, Casimir Katz begins his thesis

with the development of a finite element

program for flow calculation. The use of

the existing pre- and post-processors of

the ‘SET’ program lead to the first deve-

lopment of a “database”.

This project became very successful,

whereby the program TOP and further

program components were integrated.

The group of Prof. Werner was further

strengthened by Ernst Rank and Thomas

Fink, and later Jürgen Bellman and Byron

Protopsaltis.

After Casimir Katz received his doctorate

in 1982, he began development of FE

programs on micro-computers with the

CP/M operating system. He was moti-

vated by Joachim Stieda who had been

developing programs on the new Olivetti

6060 and the IBM 5110 since 1976.

Thomas Fink joins the team. As indepen-

dent engineers, they cooperated on a

common project. With 64kB of memory, a

slab frame structure with 3000 unknown

parameters could be solved in around 4

hours.

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1987 1988

Gert Apell joined the group and the

need for a new form of organizational

structure became clear. On 22nd June

1987, SOFiSTiK GmbH was founded,

based in Andechs, Bavaria.

In the spirit of a cooperative, the partners

continue to develop the software inde-

pendently, but use SOFiSTiK GmbH for

sales and marketing. At that time, the first

“SOFiSTiK seminar” was held and the

development of AutoCAD add-ons began

in the fink + kreutz offices in Nuremberg.

In 1988, SOFiCAD first sees the light of

day, and with its first customers such

as Schmitt&Stumpf, Grassl and Bögl

leading to a broadening user base. The

establishment of a central hotline and

new partners such as Prof. Walter Pauli

strengthened SOFiSTiK after 1990. The

context sensitive editor Teddy was break-

through for the use of the parametric

input language CADINP.

Erste Anzeige der SOFiSTiK GmbH 1987

A European research project for auto-

matic FE analysis and optimization led to

the development of an automatic mesh

generator.

An AutoCAD module was developed for

easier input of structure and calculation

control. With the resulting “SLAB-Desig-

ner” product, we achieved our first sales

in UK.

1996

Slab-Designer 2.0 based on AutoCAD 14„Teddy“ HomescreenFirst Advertisement of SOFiSTiK GmbH

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1999 2006

Our objective to better coordinate

distribution and development partners

lead to the decision to jointly set up a

corporation. Mensch und Maschine AG

(www.mum.de) joins the newly estab-

lished SOFiSTiK AG as an important

shareholder.

Members of the supervisory board

are Adi Drotleff, Prof. Dr. Ernst Rank with

Dr. Johannes Harl as Chairman.

Since 2006, our long-term partners

Andreas Imse and Dr. Wolfgang

Schneider support SOFiSTiK AG from

within our subsidiary SOFiSTiK Service

GmbH. They bring to us many years

of experience in sales and service for

SOFiSTiK software.

2007

In the summer of 2007, SOFiSTiK cele-

brated its twentieth anniversary. Numerous

customers, partners and friends attended

the event at the Castle of Hohenkammer

near Munich.

The commemorative speech was held by

the adventurer, medical doctor and balloo-

nist Bertrand Piccard.

By that time, SOFiSTiK has built an extensi-

ve distribution network. Business Develop-

ment Manager Robert Herceg successfully

established our distribution in Spain, the

Balkans and Eastern Europe.

Dipl.-Ing. Robert Herceg

Dr. Bertrand Piccard

Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Schneider

Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Andreas Imse

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2008 2010 2012

The effort to sustainably continue the

success story of SOFiSTiK with

increasing customer benefits and

software innovations, we restructured

SOFiSTiK AG in 2008.

The long-serving senior managers Frank

Deinzer and Christof Lorenz (until 2012)

were promoted to the board, so that our

management team is equipped for future

challenges. In addition, a new corporate

logo and a redesigned website were

launched.

We want to provide existing and new

customers with the best possible support

in design and construction using Building

Information Modelling technology (BIM).

A new subsidiary is established headed

by the Autodesk Revit Structure specialist

Dipl. -Ing. Armin Dariz. BiMOTiON GmbH

is the second subsidiary of SOFiSTiK AG,

based in Brixen (Italy) and Nuremberg.

Dipl.-Ing. Armin Dariz

Dipl.-Ing. Frank Deinzer

With the acquisition of the sales

branch of ABES Pircher & Partner GmbH,

SOFiSTiK enhances its international

presence and strengthens the commit-

ment to further develop its bridge design

operations.

ABES Pircher & Partner has been very

successful during the past 7 years in

exporting German engineering software

into broad international markets.

In addition, the South African subsidiary

“Advanced Bridge Engineering Systems

SA (Pty) Ltd.“ was acquired and ren-

amed “SOFiSTiK Southern Africa (Pty)

Ltd.”.

Sabine Resch, Partner

Georg Pircher MEng, Managing Director

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The Executive Board

Dipl.-Ing. Frank DeinzerMember of the Board - Products and Marketing

Dipl.-Ing. Thomas FinkChief Executive Officer

Prof. Dr.-Ing. Casimir KatzMember of the Board - Technologies and Customer Services

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The Management

Dr.-Ing. Holger HeidkampManager

Dipl.-Ing. Christine KatzManager

Dr.-Ing. Jürgen BellmannManager

Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Stefan Maly, MScManager

Dr.-Ing. Martin SifflingManager

Stephan KaiserTeam Leader

Dipl.-Ing.(FH) Michael BaldaufTeam Leader

Dipl.-Inf. Sabine GebhardTeam Leader

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How we work

In 1973 several German civil engineers began to develop

a software package to support the design process in civil

and structural engineering by the use of “modern” computers.

In 1999 a merger between the individual engineering offices

and the marketing company formed SOFiSTiK AG. This was

the beginning of an on-going success story in high-end civil

and structural engineering software. By today, we have

managed to become one of the world‘s leading software

suppliers in the field of engineering construction.

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Our benchmark is “sustainability“. We pursue long term goals

and act reliable and responsible. Thus we create security – as an

employer as well as for our customers.

sustainable

Innovations are essential for us.

Identifying customer needs earlier, and

thus taking new directions, ensures

our technological leadership.

innovative

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Your demand is our challenge. With great expertise

and strong personal dedication of every single team member,

we face the individual demands of our customers.

ambitious

We think like engineers!

Our work is characterized according

to Einstein´s maxim: „As simple as possible,

but not simpler!“

pragmatic

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cooperativeWe stand for the joint development of solutions.

The focus here is on the dialogue with each other, as

well as appreciation within the team. The success of our

customer is the base of the success of SOFiSTiK.

versatileCreativity and innovative approaches originate

from teams comprising many distinct personalities.

We encourage and request this variety. Thus we realize

our ambition to develop a wide array of modular

scalable products.

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SOFiSTiK AG develops high-quality and sustainable

software solutions for structural engineering. Hereby we

guarantee your competitiveness and success.

The vital basis for fruitful and lasting relationships is

the dialogue with our clients. Together with you as one

team we would like to master the daily demands of your

engineering work.

Even the best software is only useful if you can start

working with it immediately and achieve optimum quality

of results. Therefore SOFiSTiK Academy offers more

than just training “off the peg”. We will also show you, in

addition to any standard analysis, how to complete your

individual project successfully while constantly maintaining

perfect time- and cost-control of your project.

Dialogue creates added value

Yas Hotel, Abu Dhabi · Client: ALDAR Properties PJSC, Abu Dhabi · Structural Design and Engineering Gridshell: schlaich bergermann und partner · Architect: Asymptote Architecture · Photo: Björn Moermann

SOFiSTiK AGBruckmannring 38 · 85764 OberschleißheimT +49 (0)89 315878-0 · F +49 (0)89 315878-23

Burgschmietstraße 40 · 90419 NürnbergT +49 (0)911 39901-0 · F +49 (0)911 397904

info@sofistik.dewww.sofistik.de © SOFiSTiK AG 2013

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Software for structural analysis and design – covering 60 countries

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