Leading visual effects software developer, The Foundry (www.thefoundry.co.uk), has ranked 54th in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 100. Published May 8th, the second annual The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 100 league table ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
London, May 17h, 2011 – Leading visual effects software developer, The Foundry (www.thefoundry.co.uk), has ranked 54th in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 100. Published May 8th, the second annual The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 100 league table ranks Britain’s private companies with the fastest-growing international sales.
London based, The Foundry’s international sales grew by 72% from £3.8m in 2008 to £11.2m in 2010. The Foundry also ranked 34th in the 2010 Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100. Most recently the Carlyle Group, an American private-equity firm, acquired a majority stake for an undisclosed sum in March. Carlyle will support The Foundry's expansion and invest to develop their specialised product offerings.
Film production studios worldwide use The Foundry’s visual-effects and image-processing software. Clients include Dreamworks and George Lucas’s company Industrial Light & Magic in America, Prime Focus in India and Rising Sun in Australia. Its software has helped create ambitious VFX on blockbusters including Tron: Legacy, Alice in Wonderland and Avatar. The company engineers its technology in genuine collaboration with clients, both through constant customer interaction and by licensing production-proven technologies where possible.
Bill Collis CEO, credits this success to the staggering amount of work and attention to detail from all the teams at The Foundry "We are thrilled to be the ranked in The Sunday Times HSBC International Track 100 this year. The reason we've been so successful in this tough economic environment is because we create great artist driven visual effects technologies. This combined with our passion has allowed us to expand into new markets with both existing and new technologies."
Michael Wand, Managing Director at The Carlyle Group, a global alternative asset manager commented: "Featuring in the Sunday Times HSBC International Track 100 is commendable in today's highly competitive technology industry. We congratulate The Foundry on their ‘sequel’ into the network of Britain’s top private companies which is testament to the high quality products and talented management team."
About The Foundry
The Foundry is a world-leading innovator in visual effects technologies. The UK-based company has established itself as a critical partner to major feature film studios and post production houses worldwide including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Walt Disney Studios, Weta Digital, The Moving Picture Company, Framestore and Digital Domain.
In 2007, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences awarded a Sci-Tech Award® to The Foundry’s development team for the Furnace image processing suite. The company's widely adopted, high-end compositing system Nuke is also based on AMPAS Sci-Tech Award® winning technology.
The Foundry is at the cutting edge of software development, marketing and sales for visual effects software. Its products have facilitated ambitious VFX sequences on numerous “must see” movies such as Avatar, Tron: Legacy, Alice in Wonderland, The King's Speech, 127 Hours and Black Swan.
The Foundry received a Distinguished Honoree medal in The 2010 International Business Awards (‘The Stevies’) as the Most Innovative Company of the Year in Europe. The company was also listed among The Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 and The Guardian’s 2010 Tech Media Invest Top 100.
In March 2011, The Carlyle Group invested a majority stake in The Foundry for an undisclosed sum, following the 2009 management buyout backed by Advent Venture Partners. The Foundry is a fast growing and highly profitable business, and is still run by its original management team led by CEO Dr Bill Collis and the company's founders. The company has offices in London and Los Angeles.
Dan Sarto(link sends e-mail) is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
