What Bryan Research & Engineering does

Bryan Research & Engineering (BR&E) is a privately-held LLC founded in 1974 and headquartered in Bryan, Texas, that develops and licenses ProMax, a proprietary process simulation software platform for the hydrocarbon processing industries. The software models upstream oil and gas facilities, midstream gas processing and pipelines, refineries, acid gas treatment / sulfur recovery, and emerging energy-transition workflows including hydrogen production and carbon capture. ProMax is built on a Microsoft Visio-based graphical interface with proprietary thermodynamic packages, kinetic reactor models (TSWEET, AutoKinetic), equipment sizing modules, GIS-integrated pipeline modeling, and (as of ProMax 7.0 in 2024) Automated Data Exchange that connects simulation models to live plant data via PI Database and Microsoft SQL to function as a digital twin. BR&E protects two US-granted patents covering hydrocarbon mixture characterization (2020) and composition tracking of mixed species (2023).

BR&E operates a sales-led go-to-market combining US-based direct sales, regional offices in Dubai, Singapore, and Brno, and sales representation in India and Indonesia, supported by an unusually deep content and training layer: more than 100 free training courses per year across 18 countries and six continents, an extensive YouTube tutorial library, technical articles, and engineering-staff-delivered technical support. Revenue derives primarily from ProMax software licensing (described as subscription/recurring) complemented by professional technical-support services. Pricing is not publicly disclosed; training is provided at no cost to both clients and non-clients, serving as the primary demand-generation funnel.

The company serves more than 600 enterprise customers and universities globally, including Saudi Aramco, Sinopec Engineering, CB&I, WorleyParsons, Reliance Industries, Huntsman Performance Products, Matador Resources, Southern Union Company, and EagleClaw Midstream. Customer tenure commonly spans 15-40+ years, and named case studies report project-level savings on the order of tens of millions of dollars (e.g., ~$24 million in avoided amine-column construction at WorleyParsons Kazakhstan). BR&E is founder/privately-controlled with no disclosed external investors, no parent company, and no public funding rounds on record.

Name

Bryan Research & Engineering

Legal name

Bryan Research & Engineering, LLC

Website

https://bre.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Bryan Research & Engineering (founded 1974, Bryan, Texas) develops ProMax, a proprietary process simulation software for hydrocarbon processing — including upstream, midstream gas processing, refining, and acid gas treatment — used by 600+ enterprise and academic customers worldwide, with global field sales and 100+ free training courses annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Process Simulation Software

NAICS

Engineering Services (541330), Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Nanotechnology and Biotechnology) (541715), Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services (5416)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Engineering Services (8711)

akta.pro primary industry

Refinery Process Technology Licensing & Engineering (Process Design, Revamps) (EUALAGAM)

Keywords

• Process simulation software
• Hydrocarbon process modeling
• Gas processing simulation
• Refinery process design
• Chemical engineering software

Headquarters

HQ city

Bryan

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. ProMax Software Licenses: ProMax is a commercial process simulation software requiring purchase or subscription. The software features a Microsoft Visio-based interface with specialized blocks for hydrocarbon processing, thermodynamic modeling, equipment sizing, and environmental compliance calculations. Licensing includes free training attendance for users.
2. Technical Support Services: Technical support provided by engineering staff for software usage, troubleshooting, model convergence, and process design questions. Support is available via contact forms and is complemented by extensive documentation including technical articles, FAQs, tutorials, and downloadable resources.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Bryan Research & Engineering develops and licenses ProMax, a proprietary process simulation software platform that engineers in oil and gas, refining, petrochemical, and emerging energy (hydrogen, carbon capture, ammonia) industries use to model, size, optimize, and digitally twin hydrocarbon processing facilities — including gas sweetening, sulfur recovery, LNG/cryogenic processing, refining units, and pipeline networks — with EPA AP-42 emissions calculations built in. The company complements the software with a free, globally delivered technical training program (100+ courses per year) and engineer-staffed technical support services.

Product overview

Bryan Research & Engineering offers ProMax, a comprehensive process simulation software platform for the oil, gas, refining, and chemical industries. The product portfolio centers on ProMax (the core simulation engine) supplemented by specialized tools including the GIS Tool for pipeline network modeling, the Scenario Tool for optimization studies, and Data Exchange for real-time digital twin integration. The company provides free training services with 100+ courses annually covering foundational and advanced process simulation topics. Technical support is delivered by engineering staff. ProMax 7.0 (2024) enables Automated Data Exchange for digital twin functionality, while ProMax 6.0 (2020) introduced database connectivity. The company has been in operation since 1974 and serves over 600 companies and universities worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ProMax: Primary process simulation software platform used for modeling oil, gas, refining, and chemical processes. ProMax 7.0 integrates process models with real-time plant data to serve as a digital twin.
• TSWEET
• ProSIM
• Dehy

Products and services

• ProMax Flagship proprietary process simulation software for the oil, gas, refining, and chemical industries. Engineers use ProMax to model, simulate, size, and optimize acid gas removal, dehydration, LNG/cryogenic processing, sulfur recovery, refining units, and pipeline networks, with built-in EPA AP-42 emissions calculations and patented thermodynamic methods. Sold under subscription/license to enterprise engineering teams.
• BR&E Training Program Globally delivered free technical training service offering 100+ courses per year across 18 countries on 6 continents. Covers foundational (100-level) and advanced (200-level) ProMax software training and underlying hydrocarbon engineering processes. Open to both clients and non-clients, and serves as the company's primary demand-generation and customer onboarding channel.
• BR&E Technical Support Engineer-staffed technical support service for ProMax users, covering software troubleshooting, model convergence assistance, plant design questions, and best practices. Delivered globally via TeamViewer remote sessions and contact forms, with self-serve resources including technical articles, FAQs, tutorials, blog, and downloads.

Quantifiable outcome

• Project savings of approximately $24 million by correctly modeling amine column requirements and avoiding unnecessary construction (WorleyParsons Kazakhstan case study)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability4 records

Feature10 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Chemstations (CHEMCAD): CHEMCAD is a privately-held steady-state process simulator serving chemical, petrochemical, and refinery engineers — a smaller-scale but directly comparable competitor to ProMax with a similar niche-specialist positioning.
• Process Systems Enterprise (PSE) — gPROMS: gPROMS is a high-fidelity equation-oriented process simulator competing in refining, gas processing, and increasingly in hydrogen/carbon-capture — directly overlapping BR&E's emerging-energy and advanced modeling roadmap.
• Aspen Technology: Provider of Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus, the most direct competitors to ProMax in hydrocarbon process simulation. Both serve refiners, gas processors, and EPCs with steady-state and dynamic simulation for the same unit operations.
• Honeywell UniSim: Honeywell's UniSim Design competes head-to-head with ProMax in gas processing, refining, and ethylene simulation, with similar equipment-sizing and process-optimization workflows targeting the same E&C and operator buyers.
• AVEVA (Schneider Electric) Process Simulation: AVEVA's PRO/II and DynSim portfolios (formerly SimSci) directly overlap ProMax in steady-state and dynamic process simulation for hydrocarbon processing, refining, and petrochemicals, with broader plant-lifecycle integration.
• KBC (Yokogawa): KBC's Petro-SIM and related process-simulation software target the same refining, gas processing, and energy-transition use cases as ProMax, often bundled with operational consulting that mirrors BR&E's engineer-led support model.
• WinSim (WRITE! Products): WinSim designs process simulation software for chemical engineers in refining and gas processing — a small, privately-held competitor comparable to BR&E in scale, customer type, and focus on hydrocarbon unit operations.

Emerging players

• OLI Systems: OLI provides electrolyte and water-chemistry simulation that overlaps with ProMax in sour-water stripping, amine systems, and CO2 capture — an emerging-area peer increasingly relevant as water and electrolyte chemistry gain prominence in CCS and hydrogen projects.

Broad incumbents

• Siemens Process Systems Engineering (gPROMS): Siemens's digital industries portfolio, including its PSE acquisition, brings a broader industrial-software footprint into direct competition with BR&E — combining process simulation with plant automation, asset management, and digital-twin tooling at a scale BR&E cannot match.
• Rocky DEM / ANSYS: ANSYS's multiphysics platform is a broader incumbent in engineering simulation; while not a direct steady-state process simulator, it competes for engineering mindshare and capex allocation within the same engineering and R&D departments that buy ProMax.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bryan-research-&-engineering

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bryan Research & Engineering