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Press Release

Design News Magazine Readers Select SolidWorks Software as Best Product of the Year

Software's Ease of Use and Broad Functionality Noted as Key Capabilities

CONCORD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 11, 2002--SolidWorks® 2001 three-dimensional computer-aided design (3D CAD) software was the industry's most significant innovation of last year, according to Design News Magazine's readers. Based on a review by an independent panel of judges and reader feedback, the magazine has named SolidWorks 2001 Best Product of the Year, underscoring SolidWorks' leadership in the mainstream 3D CAD market.

Readers and independent judges drawn from industry and academia singled out SolidWorks for its intuitive interface, advanced design capabilities, and short learning curve, which puts the power of solid modeling into designers' hands faster than any other software on the market. Also noted were such innovations as SolidWorks' Web-based collaboration, flexible sub-assembly capabilities, and sheet metal tools. Judges considered several factors including the significance of the software's design and its impact on the category; its impact on the market; the originality of the design and usefulness to engineers; and the engineering effort required to overcome design challenges.

``Learning SolidWorks is fast. The learning curve should be even easier with the new heads-up user interaction feature,'' said Douglas Stamps, associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Evansville and one of the award judges. He added that the software's strength is that it combines ease of use with the capabilities that designers need.

Every year, the 180,000-circulation Design News asks companies to submit entries for the Best Product of the Year in seven technology categories. An independent panel of judges drawn from industry and academia select a finalist from each category. Readers then vote on the overall best product.

``Design News' readers are informed engineering professionals who spend their days figuring out how to design products and make them better,'' said John McEleney, CEO of SolidWorks. ``That such a large readership picked SolidWorks software as the best product of the year proves that as a company, we're setting the standard for innovative, mainstream 3D CAD software that gives engineers all the tools they need to do their jobs better. SolidWorks constantly builds user feedback into each new product to ensure the software meets engineers' needs.''

Design News will announce SolidWorks 2001 as winner of the Best Product of the Year Award in today's issue.

About Design News Magazine

Design News is a broad-based news magazine dedicated to reporting on the latest technology that OEM design engineers can use in their jobs. Its focus is ``technology in action,'' with coverage of successful engineering projects and real-world application stories on how products supplied by OEM vendors help engineers solve design problems and create products faster and more economically.

About SolidWorks Corporation

SolidWorks Corporation, a Dassault Systemes S.A. (Nasdaq: DASTY, Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA) company, develops and markets mechanical design software solutions. Founded in 1993, SolidWorks' mission is to unleash the power of 3D for everyone in product development. In six years of shipping product, SolidWorks has shipped more than 175,000 total seats of software worldwide. SolidWorks has offices around the globe and sells, distributes, and supports its products through a worldwide network of resellers. For the latest news, information, or a live online demonstration, visit the company's Web site (www.solidworks.com) or call 1-800-693-9000 (outside of North America, call +1-978-371-5000).

SolidWorks is a registered trademark of SolidWorks Corporation. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Copyright (c) 2002 SolidWorks Corporation.

 SolidWorks Corporation
Laura Kozikowski, 978-371-5077
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or
Beaupre & Co. Public Relations, Inc.
Darby Johnson, 603-559-5809
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