(Photo courtesy of Bentley)

Concerns that a widely used plant design product might lose some of its Bentley/Autodesk compatibility as a result of a recent acquisition may have been allayed June 9 by an announcement from Bentley Systems Inc. of the pending release of a new version supporting Autocad 2004.

Exton, Pa.-based Bentley’s acquisition last July of Rebis Industrial Workgroup Software, Walnut Creek, Calif., and its AutoPLANT plant design products left some users worried that the purchase might over time lead to a less versatile product for users of San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk’s software. AutoPLANT originally was designed to work with AutoCAD and has many users of its modules for piping, structural, equipment, process and instrumentation design; pipe stress analysis and plant information management. The new product is to be released in September.