Patrick Larking

A Vendor's Eye View of Why SIGGRAPH is an International Conference

by Hal Newnan

8-8-01

When I recently went to an Alias Wavefront special event, a Studio|Tools Maya user spoke about how her firm was able to go from complex industrial design to production without having to build a physical model. Opticore is taking that a step farther. Not surprisingly, in 2000, Opticore entered into a strategic partnership with Alias/Wavefront and became a recommended high-end design visualization solution. Alias Studio|Tools and Opticore Opus tools offer complete advanced modeling capabilities.

Patrick Larking, President of Opticore (a Gothenberg, Sweden, provider of high-end 3D tools for visualization throughout a product's life-cycle) and I were on a conference call today, set up by Derek Wirebaugh, Marketing Manager NA (Troy, Michigan, USA)). Opticore's 3D visualization products are being used internationally by major players in the automotive, aerospace, consumer electronics, appliance and architecture markets. Mr. Larking has attended SIGGRAPH conferences since 1995, and they have given him quick market overview snapshots of the graphics community - including both his competitors and partners.

Mr. Larking has found that attending the papers sessions is inspiring. He also noted that the number of suppliers exhibited at SIGGRAPH expanded at s2000 to be much more of a mix, and he says: "SIGGRAPH is a good place to be," in that Opticore has received not only strong interest at the show from US markets but also those of Europe and Asia. So SIGGRAPH though based in the US is actually international.