A model of optimum growth

South African company takes technical computing industry by storm

When the great scribes wrote “a friend in need is a friend indeed”, they forgot to mention that assisting such a friend could bring great rewards. This is what Dean Redelinghuys discovered when he ‘inherited’ OPTI-NUM solutions from Roy Lurie, his university friend who founded the company in 1992.

OPTI-NUM solutions has grown to become the leading provider of The MathWorks technical computing products and services, including Model-Based Design, to local engineering, financial and academic professionals. The MathWorks is known in engineering circles as the world‘s leading developer of technical computing software.

When Roy Lurie received the call to move to Boston, in the United States in 1994, to take up a position at The MathWorks, where he has subsequently been promoted to vice president engineering, Dean took over the reins at OPTI-NUM solutions to help steer the company to where it is today.

From its humble beginnings as a one man show with only a fax, filing cabinet and telephone, based in a tiny office on the Wits University Campus, OPTI-NUM solutions has grown from a student’s passionate hobby to a force to be reckoned with in the technical computing industry. The company now occupies prime office space in Hyde Park and employs eleven staff members focusing on consulting and sales.

At the heart of its organic growth are the two partners Dean and Grant Grobbelaar who joined in 1995 as co-managing director, both extremely passionate about engineering and staunch evangelists of using the latest technology concepts, such as Model-Based Design.

“We found significant benefit from using The MathWorks technical computing software as engineering students and realised there was an opportunity of becoming an official reseller,” explains Redelinghuys. “Roy approached The MathWorks with a business plan during our post-graduate studies at Wits and we have cemented a close relationship with the US-based software developer ever since those student days.”

The company has enjoyed a steady evolutionary growth path over the past 15 years, but it hasn’t all been plain sailing. “As students straight out of university, we were relatively inexperienced as managers and this affected other areas of the business, especially human resources. After many years of training, and trying out new processes, procedures and team structures, we are pleased to say that we have finally hit the sweet spot, a perfect mix between personnel and management style. We have come a long way as a management team and are still learning to this day,” continues Redelinghuys.

OPTI-NUM solutions’ local client base includes many top JSE-listed companies, from industries as diverse as aerospace and defense, mining and earth exploration, financial services, telecommunications, petrochemicals and medical research, generating a healthy turnover for the company.

“With over 15 years experience in the technical computing space, we have definitely positioned ourselves as the leaders in our field in the Southern African region,” says Grobbelaar. “We are the sole representatives of The MathWorks, developers of the market leading MATLAB and Simulink, and our relationship with the company has been a very fruitful one. In 2003 OPTI-NUM solutions authored OPC Toolbox, which provides a complete set of tools for communicating with OPC servers and logging OPC data, and is currently marketed by The MathWorks world-wide,” he affirms.

OPTI-NUM solutions revolutionised the Southern African engineering design industry when the company introduced Model-Based Design enabling engineers to design and test concepts virtually without the need for physical hardware, making it possible to test and interrogate ideas without having to build numerous and often costly prototypes.

“Even though we have gone through some rough patches in our growth path, because of our state-of-the-art products and services we have always been able to stay ahead of the competition. We’ve been privileged to have had an amazing 15 years at the cutting edge of technology and we are looking forward to celebrating even more successes in the future,” concludes Redelinghuys.

ENDS

About OPTI-NUM solutions

OPTI-NUM solutions has represented The MathWorks, developers of MATLAB and Simulink, in Southern Africa since 1992 as a provider of Technical Computing and Model-Based Design products and services to engineering, financial and academic professionals.

Since 1992, OPTI-NUM solutions has helped South African companies to accelerate technical innovation and product development by providing training, consulting and software solutions appropriate to their needs. In addition, the company has authored the OPC Toolbox, marketed world-wide by The MathWorks.

For further information about OPTI-NUM solutions, please contact:
Rochelle de Paiva
Account Manager
Text 100 – Johannesburg
Tel: (011) 803 2800
Mobile: 083 643 5295

or

Dean Redelinghuys,
Managing Director
OPTI-NUM solutions
Tel: 011 325 6238
Email: dean@optinum.co.za

or

Grant Grobbelaar
Managing Director
OPTI-NUM solutions
Tel: 011 325 6238
Email: grant@optinum.co.za