Aspen Technology Inc.’s (Nasdaq: AZPN) CEO is working on a hat trick. Like the Miracle on Ice, when the U.S. Olympic team defeated the long-dominating Soviets in 1980, the former NHL and U.S. Olympic Hockey team player has been working to clench a similar victory: bringing AspenTech back to where it was before it was plagued with several years of missteps.
The software company, that was formed out of a research project between MIT and the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced System for Process Engineering Project, continues its efforts to expand and grow, this time with plans to open its new 41,000-square-foot facility in Nashua, N.H. that will house a total of 150 new employees. The new facility is part of its product organization.
Burlington-based AspenTech has taken several steps to turn the company around after it faced a series of serious action including three officers being charged with fraud, class-action litigation and being delisted from Nasdaq.
Since 2008, under the direction of CEO Mark Fusco and CFO Mark Sullivan, AspenTech took several steps to decrease the number of research and development facilities from 19 to three, consolidated offices and reorganized its professional services unit.
AspenTech, which competes in a $3 billion market, started to grow its software business and had double-digit growth, but it was masked by numerous issues, Fusco told Mass High Tech.
“The company’s previous officers created the mess and that took a long time to fix,” Fusco told Mass High Tech. “The turnaround is long over, balance sheet is all cleaned up and stock price is doing well.”
Now, the focus is on expansion and hiring. The company’s new office, which officially opens today, will give the AspenTech space to expand its research and development efforts. There to celebrate AspenTech’s growth with Fusco and his team were New Hampshire Governor John Lynch, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Resources and Economic Development George Bald and Nashua Mayor Donnalee Lozeau.
There are 80 employees at the new facility, with plans to hire an additional 70. An additional 40,000-square-foot space is available adjacent to AspenTech’s space and the plan is to someday utilize it. “I’d expect over the next year or two we will look at that space to continue that expansion.”
In the fiscal year ending June 2012, AspenTech has $100 million in cash flow on $240 million in revenue. “We are a much bigger company in actuality than what our income shows,” Fusco said of its new revenue model that was changed to subscription accounting.
The expansion followed last week’s acquisition of the PSVPlus software product from Softbits Consultants, Ltd. The acquisition will enable AspenTech to provide an overpressure protection system capability which will result in energy efficiency and reduced capital for AspenTech customers, according to the company.
In addition to its plan to release software every 90 days, the goal is to roll out products based on new IP, according to Fusco. “AspenTech is a better competitor today than it has ever been.”