In September 2009, Heat Transfer Research, Inc., and Honeywell® entered into a strategic alliance, bringing added value to members and customers of both companies. As part of the alliance, Honeywell will provide HTRI with related technology including research reports, technical documents, and software. Additionally, HTRI and Honeywell will work together to create a closer integration between the industry leading HTRI Xchanger Suite® and Honeywell’s UniSim® Design process simulator.
Question: Is HTRI being acquired by Honeywell? Is this a merger?
Answer: No. HTRI and Honeywell have simply agreed to work together in an alliance and share certain technology to achieve mutual goals. In fact, even if a company wanted to acquire HTRI, our consortium structure would make the process extremely difficult if not impossible.
Question: Will this change how HTRI operates?
Answer: No. There is no change to our organization, and HTRI will continue to conduct business as we always have. We will simply have more software products to offer our members and additional research data available for internal development.
Question: Will this change the Technical Operating Plan (TOP)?
Answer: Yes. With full access to Honeywell’s recently acquired technology, we have a rare opportunity to compare and contrast our findings against independent research dating back to 1971. As a result, we will be able to refine our existing efforts, accelerate development of new research areas, and provide members with even more software options.
Question: Where did Honeywell acquire the technology (research and software) mentioned in the last question?
Answer: Honeywell acquired research, technical documents, and source code from Aspen Technology, Inc. when Aspen divested its holdings in Hyprotech as part of the resolution to a US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) action.
Question: To what additional technology does HTRI now have access?
Answer: HTRI is now licensed to utilize the reports, technical documents, and source code originally generated by Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow Services and obtained by Honeywell as mentioned above.
Question: What if the alliance ends?
Answer: This alliance is strategically valuable to both HTRI and Honeywell. We do not anticipate either company wanting to leave the alliance.
Question: Will you be licensing the UniSim Heat Exchangers software (UHX) to companies?
Answer: Yes. HTRI will begin licensing UHX to members and non-members in early 2010. Please contact your HTRI Sales representative for more information.
Question: Will you be licensing the full UniSim Design process simulator as well?
Answer: No. The process simulator is only available from Honeywell. For more information on UniSim Design, please visit Honeywell’s UniSim Design web page.
Question: Will you be licensing the research reports obtained as part of the alliance?
Answer: We are currently exploring options for issuing the research reports, but no decisions have been made at this time.
Question: Why should I license UHX from HTRI and not Honeywell?
Answer: There are several advantages to licensing UHX from HTRI, including direct access to our superlative technical support services and having a single source for best-in-class thermal design software. Additionally, only HTRI members will have access to a new translation tool allowing users to open cases from other thermal design packages directly in HTRI Xchanger Suite.
Question: I currently use a thermal design package from another company. Should I continue my subscription?
Answer: An HTRI membership is the most cost-effective way to access both HTRI Xchanger Suite and the underlying technology in UHX. Additionally, companies benefit by gaining access to HTRI’s ongoing research, training, and technical support.
Question: What do you mean by “the underlying technology in UHX”?
Answer: UHX is based on the technology and source code obtained from Aspen Technology, Inc.
Question: Is HTRI just going to license UHX or are there other plans for the software?
Answer: We are currently examining our options on how best to utilize the technology available to us through the alliance.
Question: Can you tell me more about the translation tool mentioned above?
Answer: The translation tool, available only to HTRI members, will allow users to open and convert legacy cases from UHX and other file formats into Xchanger Suite. Full details and features will be made available in the first quarter of 2010.
Question: When can HTRI members get the translation tool?
Answer: Development is already underway and we plan to issue it in 2010.
Question: Will there be a link between UniSim Design and HTRI Xchanger Suite?
Answer: Yes! A key goal of the alliance is to build an easy to use and tightly integrated interface between the two products.
Question: Does this mean you won’t have interfaces with other software anymore?
Answer: Not at all. We will continue to develop and maintain interfaces between HTRI products and other software packages.