Our series „SimPlan turns 30“ / Part 1 – Foundation + AG
On our 30th anniversary, we look back with gratitude on our developments and would like to highlight a few highlights in our new series of articles “SimPlan turns 30”. To do so, we interview Dirk Wortmann, a founder of SimPlan.
When was SimPlan founded?
„In 1992, the foundation stones of today’s SimPlan AG were laid: Together with Roman Wortmann and Sven Spieckermann we founded Wortmann EDV-Beratung GmbH.”
What was the occasion and how did you know each other?
“Until I founded the company, I was already working for a company where I was involved in the development of simulation software and simulation projects. Sven Spieckermann was a working student at this company at the time. The idea of combining IT services and simulation in the then emerging PC boom brought us – then 24 years old – together. My father had already been working as a freelance software developer in the banking sector for several years. His services were to become part of and possibly a developing business area of the start-up. However, things turned out differently than expected.”
Where was your first office?
“Our startup found its first office in the centre of Offenbach. It was about 25m² in size. Only 2 years after that, we moved to Mühlheim am Main to have more space for future employees.
Just 3 years after the company was founded, we changed our name to “SimPlan Gesellschaft für Simulation betrieblicher Abläufe mbH” with a stronger focus on simulation and then became a public limited company in 2000. Sven and I managed the company’s fortunes as board members. At the same time, we moved into the first large office in Maintal.”
How many people were you at the beginning?
“The first part-time employee was hired in 1994 to relieve us of the many organisational tasks. In the same year, the first full-time employee was hired to work on simulation projects. With the acquisition of the first customers and the start of further projects, we gradually added more and more employees. Today, we have about 120 employees in the SimPlan Group at 12 locations, 10 of which are in Germany, one in Austria and a sales office in China.”
In our picture gallery you will find testimonials to the founding of the company.
