EXTON, Pa.—(BUSINESS WIRE)—September 17, 2008— Bentley Systems, Incorporated today announced the launch of a new group dedicated to helping architects, engineers, construction professionals, and owner-operators design, build, and operate better-performing, more sustainable buildings. Bentley’s new Building Performance Group will focus on software solutions and products that address the immediate global need to create and maintain energy-efficient, environmentally friendly, safer buildings that also set the benchmark for occupant comfort. Among the new group’s current offerings are Bentley’s recently acquired Hevacomp line of leading building services design software that includes products for energy analysis, heating and cooling load calculations, pipe and duct sizing, and electrical system design, and Tas software for fast, in-depth energy analysis and simulation of demanding and challenging large-scale building environments. Together, these products make Bentley the clear global leader in building analysis and simulation products for improved building performance.

The Building Performance Group will be headed by Noah Eckhouse, former director of business development supporting Bentley’s portfolio development function and recently named vice president of the new group. Eckhouse will lead a team of highly skilled business developers, industry experts, and sales and support professionals with specialized knowledge and broad experience in building performance issues. He reports to John Riddle, Bentley senior vice president, Global Plant and Building.

Commenting on the launch of the new group, CEO Greg Bentley said, “The creation of our new Building Performance Group underscores Bentley System’s long-term commitment to providing comprehensive software solutions for sustaining infrastructure. It will make available a growing number of highly integrated, advanced software tools that architects, engineers, and low-carbon consultants can deploy to address the increasing demand for buildings designed with lifecycle performance in mind. These better-performing buildings will be more energy- and water-efficient, will emit less carbon waste, and will be safer to operate and work or live in.”

Mr. Bentley continued, “Setting the course for this important new initiative is a senior Bentley executive with the vision and experience to ensure its success and future growth. Noah Eckhouse’s expertise in the emerging building performance sector, coupled with the sincere passion he brings to this field, uniquely qualifies him. We welcome him to his new role at Bentley.”

Added Tony Baxter, Bentley director of Product Management, Building Performance, “I am delighted that, through Bentley’s new Building Performance Group, we are gaining extensive new global resources to help accelerate the international propagation of our Hevacomp and Tas products. This localization process has already begun for our Hevacomp product line, as evidenced by our new Australia and New Zealand release and our soon-to-be-announced U.S. release.”

Said Eckhouse, “I am excited to launch Bentley’s new Building Performance Group and have an opportunity to meaningfully improve the global built environment. Sustaining infrastructure is what we focus on at Bentley, and building performance is emblematic of our purpose. We will bring the best of the world’s building-performance tools to current and new Bentley users worldwide.

“The software tools the Building Performance Group offers enable those who design, build, and operate buildings, stadiums, plants, and other structures to fulfill three vital aspirations: first, to fully comply with existing and emerging government regulations around the world associated with energy efficiency, carbon emissions, water consumption, earthquake, wind, and flood resistance, and other performance-related parameters; second, to timely consider and compare design alternatives with early-stage conceptual design software; and third, to reliably calculate, with engineering precision, the impact of design and design changes on building performance.”

Prior to joining Bentley in 2005, Eckhouse was president of Optram, Inc., chief executive officer of TrailBreaker.com, an e-commerce analytics software firm, and vice president of Player Systems Corp. He was also a research specialist in the department of ocean engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Eckhouse graduated from Tufts University with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering.

About Bentley’s Hevacomp Software

Bentley’s Hevacomp line is the leading software for energy analysis, heating and cooling load calculations, pipe and duct sizing, electrical system design, and product catalogs. The software is at the forefront of simulation for building energy analyses, incorporates the EnergyPlus engine developed by the U.S. Department of Energy, and is certified to perform CO₂ emissions calculations required under Part L of the U.K. building regulations. For more information about Bentley’s Hevacomp software, visit www.bentley.com/hevacomp.

About Tas Software

The Tas suite of software products simulates the dynamic thermal performance of buildings and their systems. Tas Building Designer performs dynamic building simulation with integrated natural and forced airflow. Tas Ambiens is a robust and easy-to-use computational fluid dynamics package that produces a cross section of microclimate variations within a space. For more information about Tas software, visit www.bentley.com/tas .