PROVIDENCE – Gov. Donald L. Carcieri and R.I. Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Keith W. Stokes paid a visit to the Valley Street headquarters of software firm Simulia earlier this month.
The visit was the final stop on the pair’s tour of Rhode Island-based small businesses in the information technology, advanced manufacturing and green energy sectors. Manufacturers use Simulia’s simulation software to cut costs and save time by “virtually” evaluating product performance rather than using traditional physical testing.
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“Rhode Island is home to many exciting companies built on innovation and are leading the growth of our knowledge-based economy,” Carcieri said in a statement about the tour. “These visits are a key component of our public-private outreach efforts to our existing businesses to hear first-hand what we can do to support their needs.”
Simulia is among five businesses that were visited by the governor and the EDC director, which were chosen for having achieved growth amid the recession. The others were Newport Biodiesel LLC, Guill Tool & Engineering Co. Inc. of West Warwick, Cooley Group of Pawtucket and BioHoldings Ltd. of Portsmouth.
“We recognize the importance of small businesses in our state and will continue to focus on the development of a strong strategy to grow and expand the existing small businesses as part of our economic recovery plan,” Stokes said.
In an e-mail to Providence Business News, Simulia CEO Scott Berkey said it was “great” to get a visit from the state’s highest officeholder and its leading economic development official.
“We had the opportunity to share the Dassault Systèmes vision as well as what Simulia does for our customers globally and how we contribute to the building of Rhode Island’s knowledge economy,” Berkey said. “Our team appreciated that the governor took time to visit our office and share his insight.”
During their visit, Carcieri and Stokes suggested that Simulia look for ways to partner with local colleges and other consortiums to help grow the knowledge economy, a constant theme from both the Carcieri administration and the EDC in recent years.
Carcieri also got the chance to see the damage sustained by Simulia’s office in last month’s historic flooding, which forced employees to work remotely for two days because of an electricity shutoff. Although repairs are still being done, the governor told Berkey he was impressed by how quickly the office had returned to normal.
Simulia employs more than 800 people worldwide, with 348 employees in Rhode Island. Most of those work at the Providence office, with a small number in Warwick. The company was picked as one of the Best Places to Work in the state by PBN last year.
Additional information is available at simulia.com.
