The vendor that analysts say has the largest market share in supplying engineering software to the process plant industry has acquired a 25-year-old company with the most widely used pipe-stress analysis software, as well as a suite of 3D design tools for small-plant and project design.

Huntsville, Ala.-based Intergraph closed the deal on Jan. 4 to purchase Houston-based COADE Holdings Inc., according to Patrick Holcomb, executive vice president of global business development in Intergraph’s process, power and marine division. COADE sold a majority stake of the firm in 2007 to Insight Venture Partners. No financial terms were disclosed. Intergraph was taken private in 2006.

COADE claims to have more than 20,000 users working in 80% of the largest plant engineering and design companies. Intergraph was ranked the top provider of process engineering tools by ARC Advisory Group, which develops research for the manufacturing and process industry, in a market analysis and five-year forecast published in February 2009. The report projected PET market growth at a compound annual rate of more than 11% through 2013 and rising from slightly less than $1.8 billion in 2008 to more than $3 billion in 2013.

Holcomb says the acquisition extends Intergraph’s market and its ability to serve smaller projects with COADE’s CADWorx, a modular AutoCAD-based 3D plant-design system. The deal also includes COADE’s CAESAR II, the pipe-stress analysis tool, as well as PV Elite for pressure-vessel design, and TANK, for tank design. Holcomb says the deal will have “virtually no impact” on distribution or support, and that the COADE team will stay on.