HOUSTON, JUNE 23 -- Welcom Software Technology, a Houston-based project management software company, has acquired Texim Inc. of St. Paul, Minn. Merging these project management software companies will integrate a high and low-end user network broaden Welcom's range of applicable consumers, and introduce sophisticated new Windows-based project management products. "This is our first acquisition because it's the first one that made sense," said Welcom President Tony Welsh. In 1990, Thomasen and design specialist Dr. Leslie Butterfield created Texim Inc. in St. Paul from the original company. The new company has continued to develop, manufacture and market graphically based project management software for scheduling resource management and cost control. The company's product, Texim Project 1.0, was announced one year ago and has helped shape a reputation for delivering high-end function at a low-end price. November's release of Texim Project 1.1 strengthened that reputation. The upgrade incorporates enhanced options and flexibility, especially for multi-project management. One magazine reviewer describes Texim Project as a "refreshingly rich application." Another wrote, "Texim Project breaks new ground by modeling capabilities for projects of any size with an easy-to-use interface." Texim's consumers are in the aerospace, construction, banking/finance, data processing, engineering, government, insurance, manufacturing, pharmaceutical, research/development and transportation industries. With more than 400 installations around the world, Texim's customers include BASF, BMW, Daimler Benz, Eaton, Knoll Pharmaceuticals, NASA, Offshore Technologies, Siemens and the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Army. Texim distributes worldwide through independent value-added resellers, project management consultants, trainers and distributors. Welcom Software Technology 15995 North Barkers Landing, Suite 275 Houston, TX 77079 713-558-0514 -------------------------------------------------------- ST. PAUL, Minn. JUNE 23 -- In five years, electrical engineer Ole Thomasen's ideas have journeyed from Copenhagen to today's acquisition of his company by project management software leader Welcom Software Technology. Thomasen started Texim International of Denmark in 1987, two years before the company released its first product, ASSURE ProjectManager. The product was readily accepted by a European market that demanded project management software for non-mainframe computers. "Most project management software is at either the high or low end, and that's where the user stays. This acquisition will give users the first natural upgrade path that is free from compatibility concerns. We plan to offer exciting new products in the months ahead, once we can assure their compatibility." "Texim's major benefit from this acquisition will be the marketing power that helped Welcom products earn their worldwide reputation for excellence," said Texim President Ole Thomasen. "This acquisition also benefits Welcom significantly. A forthcoming product will offer high-end functionality in a Windows environment. This will fill a gap in Welcom's existing product line." Texim's staff will relocate from St. Paul to Welcom's Houston headquarters. Welcom's OPEN PLAN and related software products provide advanced planning and control tools to more than 10,000 users, including project managers and schedulers worldwide. OPEN PLAN's comprehensive capabilities provide manufacturers, engineers, builders, scientists and many other users with total project management solutions. Texim's product, Texim Project, is a mid-range project management software package with a specialized graphical user interface. The product is far more powerful than similarly priced low-end products, yet equally easy to use. Officials at Welcom and Texim anticipate the first innovative Windows-based product of their collaboration to appear later this year. -------------------------------------------------------- HOUSTON, JUNE 23 -- Welcom Software Technology (WST) customers comprise a who's who of service, industry, science and government -- Amoco. Arthur Andersen & Co. Conoco. Dow Chemical. DuPont. Eastman Kodak. General Electric. McDonnell Douglas. Merck. NASA. Owens-Corning. Pfizer. Proctor & Gamble. TRW. Shell Oil. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These and many other organizations utilize WST's project management software and rely on the company's technical support, training and consulting. Incorporated in 1984, WST was founded by President Tony Welsh and Vice President Stephen Cook. Both men realized years ago that although PCs had penetrated nearly all business areas, project management remained a mainframe computing tool. So they formed WST and filled the market void with OPEN PLAN, a flexible multi-platform project management software product. Subsequently, WST has been named one of Inc's fastest-growing privately held companies in America for the past three years. Furthermore, OPEN PLAN was voted first in a magazine poll of corporate satisfaction by nearly 400 corporate PC buyers. WST has upgraded OPEN PLAN many times and expanded its product line to include related project management software: OPEN PLAN OPEN PLAN brings project management to PC, LAN, Macintosh, UNIX and DEC VAX/VMS environments with a common user interface across these platforms. Data is stored in Xbase files with the user interface flexible for easy customization. OPEN PLAN's planning and control features include time analysis, progress tracking, comprehensive resource scheduling, multi-project scheduling, on-line help, and a built-in screen editor. The latest version, OPEN PLAN 4.0, is a major upgrade that includes Project Executive, a graphical user interface which allows users interactive data entry and switching between three views -- a barchart and resource histogram, logic network and work breakdown structure (WBS). COBRA COBRA is a cost control/performance measurement package that provides cost scheduling control for program cost managers. OPERA An extension to OPEN PLAN, OPERA is designed for project managers who need realistic assessments of project risk. OPTIC Integrated with OPEN PLAN, OPTIC is an information manager designed to track and manage supplementary information about a project. Headquartered in Houston, WST operates offices in Vienna, Va., and Irvine, Calif. Welcom Software Technology International Ltd., a wholly owned, London-based WST subsidiary, directs sales and support outside North and South America. +---------------------------------------------------------------+ | From the America Online New Product Information Services | +===============================================================+ | This information was processed with OmniPage Professional OCR | | software (from Caere Corp) & a Canon IX-30 scanner from data | | provided by the above mentioned company. For additional info, | | contact the company at the address or phone# indicated above. | | All submissions for this service should be addressed to | | BAKER ENTERPRISES, 20 Ferro Drive, Sewell, NJ 08080 U.S.A. | +---------------------------------------------------------------+