Autodesk Inc has established a new research and development center in Shanghai with 1,500 employees, the biggest R&D center among multinational firms in China, the US-based design software vendor said today.

Autodesk, the maker of Autocad, said the center will combine the operations of Autodesk and Hanna Strategies, which it acquired in November. The Autodesk China Research and Development Center will be based in Pudong New Area and it reflected the company's commitment to China, according to Carl Bass, president and chief executive of Autodesk.

''Merging our talented development teams in Shanghai strengthens Autodesk's engineering operations, provides us with internal efficiencies and increases our capacities,'' said Bass during the opening ceremony.

Autodesk's revenue was US$1.8 billion for the 2007 fiscal year with 23 percent of that coming from Asia Pacific, the fastest growing region.

In Asia Pacific, China is the fastest growing region in terms of Autodesk's revenue, said Bass without providing detailed figures for the Chinese market.

Autodesk's products, both 2D and 3D design software, are widely used in manufacturing, building and construction, as well as the media and entertainment markets.

In China, they are used for design in the construction, automobile and electronics industries.

Hanna is a software development firm with 1,000 employees and offices in Shanghai, Atlanta, USA, and Pune, India.

Autodesk's China Research & Development Center's Director Huang Jianming said the facility will continue to grow in the future.

Autodesk invested about 22 percent of its global revenue into research and development last year, according to Huang.

(Shanghai Daily January 8, 2008)