You might say Broadband TelCom Power Inc. is a power broker for the up-and-comers in the red-hot networking sector.
The Santa Ana company, flush with $10 million in second round funding, makes one of the basic components for computer networks,power supplies. Known as BTC Power, the company produces electronics that regulate voltage and current in routers, switches, computers and other networking gear.
Customers include San Jose-based Foundry Networks Inc., Santa Clara-based Extreme Networks Inc. and Sunnyvale-based Redback Networks Inc. BTC Power also is working on a prototype for networking kingpin Cisco Systems Inc., according to company officials.
“Every piece of equipment needs a power source,” said James Lau, the company’s founder and chief executive.
BTC Power recently concluded a second round of venture funding from Quantum Fund in New York, Olympia Capital in San Francisco and others. The investment firms now hold 30% of the company.
The company recently moved into a new 18,000-square-foot facility, more than tripling the space it had at its former Costa Mesa location. Lau said he is looking for the company to nearly triple annual sales next year, going from around $12 million today to about $35 million next year.
“We have a huge amount of backlog,” Lau said.
Lau started BTC Power in March of last year after running or working at several technology firms. Among them were two other makers of power supplies and other electronic components.
At BTC Power, Lau is taking steps to bolster the company’s management and administration. BTC Power has made a few hires, including a chief financial officer and a few technicians. A director of operations has been brought on as well, and the company is looking to hire a human resources director.
The company’s employment, which now stands at 58, should reach 65 by the end of the year, Lau said.
BTC Power is looking to raise $10 million to $15 million in another round of funding next year, Lau said. His goal is to take the company public at the end of next year or in early 2002.
“This is a pick and axe shop,” said Harry Jones, the company’s new CFO. “We make a real product. With the right volume we’ll be profitable.”
One hurdle to BTC Power’s growth is finding enough people.
“Technical people are hard to find,” he said.
The bulk of Lau’s employees work in administration, engineering and design. The company outsources most manufacturing, with some of it going to Santa Ana neighbor Express Manufacturing Inc., a contract electronics manufacturer. It also contracts with companies in China, Taiwan and Singapore and other parts of Asia.
BTC Power has 8 patents on its technologies and applications pending on others.
“Our technology is the key that allows us to compete. We don’t worry about the big guys,” Lau said.
The “big guys” Lau refers to are Lucent Technologies Inc. and Camarillo-based Power-One Inc., which also produce power supplies.
Power supplies date back decades, Lau said, and the technology used hasn’t changed much over the years. In 1994, Lau developed a power supply that used a single winding around multiple cores, reducing the voltage, but allowing for more current to pass through. n
