Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering
U of C Wealth Creation: US$106million
Entrepreneurial spirit drives research commercialization
For numerous years, U of C professors have successfully coupled their research and innovation with business drive to achieve commercial success.
In the late seventies, leading researchers in the U of C’s Chemical & Petroleum Engineering Department and their associates at the start up company Hyprotech Ltd. spearheaded the development of innovative process simulation tools that would become industry standards.
This highly successful company became the leading Canadian supplier of process simulation and engineering software to the oil and gas industry.
Hyprotech expanded into more than 80 countries, with over 17,000 users, and an impressive list of alliance partners; Hyprotech has served more than 50 per cent of the world’s refineries and 90 per cent of the world’s gas processing companies.
Product suite elevates industry prowess
Hyprotech’s achievements include: an interactive process simulator (HYSIM); an object oriented process simulator (HYSYS Process); a process simulator with integrated steady-state and dynamics (HYSYS Plant); a process simulator with ‘plug-in’ architecture for custom unit operation, reactions or property packages; a client-server capability in a simulation tool (BDK); a refinery-wide simulation capability (HYSYS Refinery); and, an intranet knowledge deployment product (Process Manual).
Business growth, strategic alliances, and new ownership
In the 1980s, Hyprotech entered the European, South American and Far East markets and was instrumental in promoting the use of PC-based tools for steady-state process simulation. HYSYS technology was demonstrated through strategic training courses.
With over 400 employees worldwide, and offices and agents in more than 30 countries, Hyprotech has more software packages on the market than any other process simulation company. It boasts technical alliances with the University of Massachusetts (distillation synthesis), MDC Technology (on-line optimization), KBC (refinery-wide simulation), Baker Jardine (wellbore/flowline simulation), DB Robinson & Associates Inc. (advanced thermodynamics), Sulphur Experts Inc. (sulphur plant simulations) and another U of C initiated company, Neotechnology Consultants Ltd. (pipeline simulation).
In 2001, Hyprotech reached record high revenues in excess of US$80million (UK GAAP). A year later, Hyprotech was acquired by Aspen Technologies Inc. for US$106.1million in cash.
Aspen Technologies Inc. (AZPN: NASDAQ) has more than 2500 employees worldwide and is one of the world’s largest scientific and engineering software and services companies with revenues in 2004 of $325million, and a current market cap in excess of US$200million.