Bridge Leases New China Plant; IPNet Earns E-Commerce Award
Ted Smith, founder and chairman of Costa Mesa-based FileNET Corp., recently announced that he is passing the title of chairman of the board to the company’s chief executive, Lee D. Roberts
Smith founded FileNET in 1982 and the company became the first to bring document imaging and workflow software to market. FileNET has grown to $381 million in trailing 12-month revenue and now has a market capitalization of around $1 billion.
“Ted has been a visionary and pioneer in our industry,” Roberts said. “Ted has been a tremendous role model and has provided me with strong support. I look forward to continuing to work with Ted and benefit from his extensive experience and fine business judgment.”
The Institute of American Entrepreneurs named Smith Entrepreneur of the Year for Southern California in 1987. Prior to founding FileNET, he was the president and chief executive officer of Basic Four Corp. Smith is a member of the boards of Intershop Communications, SmartShip, Affinity Solutions, SeatAdvisor, CimVision and Manufacturing Data Systems.
He also is a member and former chairman of the CEO Roundtable at the University of California, Irvine. He chairs the CEO Technology Advisory Board for the Information and Computer Sciences Department at UCI, and is a vice-chairman of the UCI Foundation. Smith is a member of the Executive Council of the Silicon Valley-based Technology Network and chair of its Orange County unit.
Roberts, after a career with IBM spanning 20 years, was appointed president and chief operating officer of FileNET in May 1997. The following year, he was named chief executive and president. Prior to joining FileNET, Roberts was general manager and vice president of Worldwide Marketing and Sales for IBM’s Networking Division.
Smith, who will remain on the board, credited Roberts with shaping FileNET’s business strategy to deliver Web-driven process management applications and large-scale enterprise solutions.
Bridge Goes to China
Garden Grove-based Bridge Technology, Inc. a data storage and communications component company, announced it plans to lease a new manufacturing facility adjacent to Shanghai in the Free Trade Zone of Ningbo, China.
The 110,000-square-foot facility will include surface-mount technology, automatic insertion machines, automatic testing and burn-in equipment that will be certified ISO 9000 for quality and ISO 14000 for environment.
“With an initial investment of $3 million, Bridge Technology’s manufacturing and labor costs should be significantly reduced, thereby enhancing profitability for our core business,” said company President John J. Harwer.
Production should commence in March 2001 with initial staffing of approximately 300 employees, expanding to 800 at full operation. The Ningbo plant will augment the company’s US-based Autec Power Systems division, manufacturing power supply units for global distribution. Bridge Technology’s initial investment of $3 million is expected to increase to $10 million over the next three years, while the company will enjoy tax-free status for five years.
Watching IPNet
Newport Beach-based IPNet Solutions Inc., a provider of connectivity services, was selected as one of Computerworld’s Top 100 Emerging Companies to Watch in 2001. The list is composed of young companies with less than $250 million in revenue that demonstrate superiority in three categories: innovation, value to corporate IT operation in Fortune 1000 companies and the ability to execute on its strategy. IPNet earned its award in the e-commerce category for its online transaction management infrastructure software.
Bits:
Gateway’s Connected Touch Pad featuring Instant AOL was named the “Best Consumer Product” shown at the fall Comdex by a panel of judges from ZDNet and CNet. The new device,along with the new Gateway Connected Music Player and the innovative Gateway Connected Home networking system,is being rolled out in Gateway Country stores across the U.S. Both devices use Irvine-based Broadcom Corp.’s high-speed home phone-line networking chips for connecting locally and to the Internet … Brea-based InvestmentCare.com Inc. announced a new online site for securities compliance and investor education services for the investment community. Former securities examiners with the National Association of Securities Dealers founded InvestmentCare.com. It touts itself as a one-stop Web source for online investor education and protection, and securities compliance consulting services … Verbalnet Technologies Inc., an Orange-based Internet technology development company, announced its Verbal User Interface that helps Web site users to rapidly find things they want on a Web site. Verbalnet said it has specifically tailored this technology for use by large, corporate Web sites. Verbalnet also announced a partnership with Irvine-based marketing firm Mueller International.
