• Strengthening of the team involved in the development of high value-added projects

• Creation of a dedicated powertrain engineering division

• Support from the Tunisian government and partnership with local universities

Lech Tomasz Kisielewicz, Executive Vice President for Services Operations at ESI Group and head of ESI Services Tunisie, comments: “Tunisia offers excellent opportunities for ESI to develop a unique expertise. The creation of a new division dedicated to powertrain engineering provides new prospects for our ambitious expansion plans to support our clients and develop innovative solutions at lower cost.”

Since its opening 18 months ago, ESI near-shore Virtual Simulation Production Centre, located in Tunis and headed by Dr Kamel Mekki, has undergone continuous expansion thanks to innovative projects benefiting major European clients in the areas of Energy and Transportation. The centre’s existing activities provide technological support to ESI French and German subsidiaries, which remain fully responsible for the projects’ definition and execution.

ESI business unit has now a new division dedicated to Automotive Powertrain technology.

ESI seized the opportunity offered by specific new requirements in the field of Powertrain engineering (engines, gearboxes, transmission etc.) to open a division specialising in this buoyant and particularly innovative area of the Automotive industry. The division is headed by engineering expert Dr. Yacine Gargouri, who spent 10 years at Renault, where he was most recently R&D manager of the Engineering Mechanical Department and in charge of outsourcing in low-cost countries.

This development has received support from the Tunisian government, in particular from the Ministry of Education, Scientific Research and Technology. ESI has also strengthened its partnerships with local universities in order to meet current and future recruitment requirements for high-level engineers.

About ESI

ESI is a pioneer and world-leading provider in virtual prototyping that take into account the physics of materials. ESI has developed an extensive suite of coherent, industry-oriented applications to realistically simulate a product’s behavior during testing, to fine-tune manufacturing processes in accordance with desired product performance, and to evaluate the environment’s impact on performance. ESI’s solutions fit into a single collaborative and open environment for End-to-End Virtual Prototyping, thus eliminating the need for physical prototypes during product development. The company employs over 750 high-level specialists worldwide covering more than 30 countries. ESI Group is listed in compartment C of NYSE Euronext Paris. For further information, visit http://www.esi-group.com/.