Simtra, software developer for design professionals

The early years

Founded in 1989, Simtra was originally involved in the navigation of mobile robots. The company branched out in 1994 and merged the results of the robotics research with airport know-how provided by the Swedish Civil Aviation Authority. This resulted in the software application PathPlanner; an airside planning, design and operations tool that could be used directly in the CAD environment.

The development of the superjumbo Airbus A380 marked a new era, not only for Airbus, but also for Simtra. In 1998 Airbus selected PathPlanner to prepare for the introduction of the A380 to major international airports. In the years following, many larger airports and aviation consulting firms acquired PathPlanner to study the implications of the A380 and to design the necessary airport adaptations.

In 2001, Simtra entered the Transportation industry with a PathPlanner version dedicated to vehicle turn simulation named PathPlanner ROADS. During an evaluation performed in 2009, the Swedish Road Authority concluded that PathPlanner R4 was the most suitable software for their needs, a sentiment which is shared by hundreds of users worldwide.

Simtra today

In recent years other software products have been added to Simtra’s portfolio and today the company is recognized as a leading supplier of software solutions and services for planners, designers, engineers and architects in both the aviation and transportation industries.

At the beginning of 2011, Simtra continued its growth with the inauguration of a new representative office, Simtra Americas. Based in Melbourne, Florida, USA, the office is responsible for the North and Latin American regions.