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Gateway may move more jobs from OC, in the Technology column



Shugart Gains Foothold in Asia; Conexant Promotes Operations Pro

Computer maker Gateway Inc.’s decision to possibly move its San Diego headquarters to northern San Diego County may put some strain on the company’s Lake Forest-based facility.

The company’s plan: move the headquarters out of its University City facility,where it has a long-term lease,to Carlsbad or Escondido and move part of the company’s Lake Forest-based business division into the new facility. Gateway will sublease its current headquarters when it moves.

Gateway has long said it doesn’t plan to abandon its Lake Forest facility, but given the company’s new cash-saving attitude, it might not make sense to have two facilities,one partially full,within 50 miles of each other. Gateway moved the manufacturing team,140 jobs,from Lake Forest to North Sioux City, S.D., earlier this year.

With the return of Gateway founder Ted Waitt as chief executive after a year-long absence, some industry analysts and company insiders have said Gateway will focus less on the business division. Company officials say they have no intention of reducing Gateway’s presence in the corporate computing business or in Lake Forest.

“Only a small portion will move down there,” said Donna Kather, spokeswoman for the business division, of the pending realignment.

One source close to Gateway said a move to northern San Diego,where much of the county’s technology base is,isn’t a given. The company could move to a location southeast of its current site, which would mitigate the proximity issue. Another factor in favor of the Lake Forest site: the plant is home to a sizable number of engineers, who may not be willing to commute to San Diego, the source said.

Gateway management hasn’t made any decisions on whom to move to San Diego. However, it’s possible some managers will wind up commuting to San Diego once a week while their support staff stays in Lake Forest, Kather said. Would this be too tiring for commuting managers?

“I think it’s too soon to tell,” Kather said.


Shugart Tech Going Global

Irvine-based Shugart Technology struck a deal recently with Japanese distributor Matsubo Corp. The maker of storage device testing software hopes the deal will give the company a foothold in Asia.

“The agreement with Matsubo is very important to us, as it will serve to open our doors to new customers in Japan and Southeast Asia,” said Rick Brechtlein, chief executive of Shugart Technology. “Matsubo has a long history and well-established relationships with the most respected storage networking industry leaders.”

Shugart Technology is the brainchild of tech luminary Al Shugart, chief executive of tech investment firm Al Shugart International and Seagate Technology Inc. The company didn’t place a value on the deal.


Conexant Promotes Veteran

A Conexant Systems Inc. veteran has been promoted to senior vice president. Kevin Barber, former vice president of internal manufacturing for the Newport Beach-based chip maker, will take over as VP of operations,a position in which he will assume responsibility for all Conexant’s internal manufacturing sites as well as external chip making relationships.

“Kevin’s industry expertise and in-depth knowledge of Conexant’s operations make him an ideal candidate for this position,” said Conexant Chief Executive Dwight Decker of the 17-year veteran. “He has consistently proven himself as a respected leader in each new undertaking, and we are confident he will continue to excel in his new role.”

Barber, who holds an MBA from Pepperdine University and a BSEE from San Diego State University, replaces Terry L. Ellis, who retired earlier this year.


Net Camera Firm Gets CEO

A former high-tech toy company executive has jumped to a local network camera firm as the chief executive and president. Peter C. DeAngelis will try to focus on the sales division of the Santa Ana-based IQinVision. He also hopes to sign partnerships that will give the company a solid revenue base, the company said.

IQinVision makes cameras that allow security workers and company executives to oversee activity remotely.

“IQinVision’s line of IQeye camera platforms is gaining wide acceptance in the marketplace and my mandate will be to help the company meet the growing demand for our advanced camera products,” DeAngelis said.


Bits:

The promise of all-wireless connections among devices took another step forward when Broadcom Corp. introduced new Bluetooth radio chips recently. The chips, designed for mobile phones and part of the company’s line of the Bluetooth chips, allow cell phone manufacturers to add wireless Bluetooth technology to phones more easily 3DSP Corp. a digital signal processor designer, moved its headquarters to a 20,000-square-foot facility in the Irvine Spectrum area. Tom Beaver, president and CEO at 3DSP, said the move will accommodate recent and future growth Irvine-based SignalTree Solutions announced today that it has signed a four-year, $27 million extension to its contract with Dialysis Clinic, Inc.

SignalTree, which was spun off from Virginia-based PSINet, recently received funding from Washington DC-based Arlington Capital Partners.

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