QuesTek Innovations LLC has long been known as a creator of new materials and metal alloys to meet user-defined properties for applications in aerospace, automotive, consumer electronics and other technology markets. The customer base for these high-performance alloys is international in scope. To better serve customers and prospects in Japan, QuesTek International has announced a joint venture agreement with Tokyo-based Itochu Techno-Solutions (CTC). CTC provides sales and consulting services for a range of materials-related software products, including those for alloy design, materials process design, materials characterization and related databases, while providing support and consulting services. The new joint venture is called QuesTek Japan K.K.

QuesTek has been a pioneer in Integrated Computational Materials Engineering (ICME) technologies and its unique Materials by Design® methodology, which combines physics-based models, vetted thermodynamic and kinetic databases of the elements and predictive property models to allow for efficient materials design, process optimization, modeling and simulation. A recent example of QuesTek's application of ICME was the development of the first high-temperature aluminum alloy for use with additive manufacturing (3D printing).

As a company, CTC is deeply involved in providing application support for software that creates comprehensive simulations to predict the properties of materials. Founded in 1972, CTC reported sales in the last fiscal year of over $4.1 billion US and has 8,600 employees worldwide.

QuesTek Chief Science Officer and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Thermo-Calc Professor of the Practice, Dr. Greg Olson, commented, "With more than 30 years of experience in Japan's technology markets, CTC is well-positioned to be a strong partner for QuesTek. As a lead up to this joint venture, we've worked closely with CTC and have found them to have the technical skills, the market knowledge, relationships and track record to be the ideal partner for us in Japan."