Major merger announced in CAD/CAM software world

ZWCAD Software Co. Ltd. of Guangzhou, China, a supplier of 2D computer aided design software, has leapt into the 3D league with its acquisition of VX Corp. VX, headquartered in Melbourne, FL, supplies 3D CAD and CAM software.

ZWSOFT already claims more than 180,000 users around the globe, is the leading supplier of CAD software in China, and says this acquisition is aimed at helping it become a world leader in both the 2D and 3D computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) market. VX will continue to create 3D CAD/CAM software, based on its VX kernel, as a wholly owned subsidiary of ZWSOFT. The buyer says the acquisition will help it to develop and introduce its latest product, ZW3D, which is described as CAD/CAM software that will extend enterprise-level mechanical design and engineering capabilities to a user's desktop "at a fraction of the cost of comparable systems."

Owning VX Corp. gives ZWCAD ownership and control of its own proprietary kernel, the key link between applications and data processing at the hardware level, and something it claims its key competitors lack.

Mark Vorwaller and Forrest Blair founded VX in 1985, with its original name Control Automation. In 1994 its name was changed to Vaarimetrix, and in 1999 its flagship VX CAD/CAM product was released. That product's success prompted the change to its current name, VX Corp. In April 2000, machine tool supplier Shin Nippon Koki (SNK; Osaka, Japan), partnered with VX to sell, market, and distribute its products globally. —mpweditorial@cancom.com