Viking Offers Workers Options; Rainbow Cutting Costs
Running a business sans power can turn even the mundane into the exciting. A few weeks ago, Quantum/ATL Products Inc. Chief Executive Kevin Daly received a call from the company’s Irvine offices on Kelvin Street and learned that, because of power issues, the company would have to scale back some of its operations for that day.
“I got one of those calls you never want to get as CEO,” Daly said. “We would have to cut power to the help desk, payroll or engineering.”
Daly said he was not about to cut payroll, which would have pushed pay back for another week, and the help desk is an important part of the company’s business keeping customers happy.
“The engineers got the chin, I’m afraid,” Daly said. “It was an interesting experience.”
Daly said the company has taken several measures that help scale back on power use. Most employees in the company have switched from desktop computers to laptop computers, which use markedly less power. The company also has controls on its lights that automatically turn them off after a certain time of day.
Viking Shares Pie
Electronic components maker Viking Components Inc., Rancho Santa Margarita, could be moving closer to an initial public offering now that it has issued 20 million options to employees to purchase stock, says one company spokeswoman. “You could assume in the long run that’s our goal,” said spokeswoman Christina Karpowitz.
The company issued a press release saying it hasn’t been slapped by the sharp decline in prices for computer memory and points to the fact that its sales in 2000 grew as evidence to prove it. As a gesture to boot, Viking management granted the options to all Viking employees.
Karpowitz also said the company issued the shares to lure workers through lucrative equity participation plans. Viking’s founder had glowing comments about the company’s direction.
“We are enthusiastic about Viking’s future,” said Glenn McCusker, the company’s chief executive. “We are building an outstanding employee team, and will continue to expand product lines, diversify channels and secure partnerships to further strengthen our position as a premier worldwide memory manufacturer and ensure another year of record revenues in 2001.”
Rainbow Hiring: Only “Essential”
Though there is no official hiring freeze in place, Irvine-based Rainbow Technologies Inc. is only hiring “essential personnel” in light of the economic slowdown, said a company spokesman. But while there is no official mandate to lay off employees to cut costs, executives at the Web security firm have given its front-line managers the authority to cut costs where they see fit.
“We are empowering managers in certain divisions to cut costs,” said Rainbow spokesman Dan Chmielewski.
Rainbow recently reported earnings that came in under Wall Street’s expectations because it lost money on investments and costs associated with its recent acquisition of software maker Wyatt River.
“An unanticipated slowdown in the North American economy impacted our Q4 2000 results, and we expect these conditions to continue through at least the first two quarters of 2001,” said Walt Straub, Rainbow’s chief executive, in a statement.
Linux-Based Handhelds
Irvine’s Agenda Computing plans to release a handheld computer, similar to Palm or Handspring organizers, that runs on the free Linux operating system in less than a month, according to a company spokeswoman. Agenda will just beat out Japanese company Sharp Electronics, which plans to release its own handheld computer based on the Linux operating system later this year.
Agenda has its work cut out for it. Palm Inc. has the lion’s share of the handheld computing market with its Palm operating system. Microsoft Inc.’s Pocket PC operating system comes in at a distant second.
Agenda will be among the first handheld makers to make handheld computers that run the Linux operating system, which has gained more popularity running large servers. By making an operating system based on the open-source operating system Linux, developers will be able to more easily write programs to run on the unit.
TSMC Coming to Town
Computer chip manufacturing giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. plans to host Southern California chip designers at a technology symposium in Costa Mesa on April 30. The contract manufacturer plans to talk about new ways chips are made and technologies the company is currently developing to aid in chip production. Those interested in attending the event can sign up at www.tsmc.com.
Bits:
Irvine-based RemoteVideo Inc. has named Naveen Chanana as the chairman. “Naveen Chanana is a most successful entrepreneur and venture capitalist,” said RemoteVideo Chief Executive Officer Ron Nieman. “He has set up successful ventures and funded others. He has over 15 years of relevant experience in the software and computer hardware industry and has been a CEO, CFO and president. His experience is vital to our growth and his vision as a founder of RemoteVideo helps us stay our course.” … Technology business advisor Mark Ramsaier has joined Anaheim-based Mobile Wireless Technologies as chief operating officer. “We are fortunate to have such a gifted strategist and visionary to face the challenges inherent in moving MWT forward,” said Chief Executive Chuck Jones. “Mr. Ramsair operates in the present and the future yet brings 30 years’ experience in general management, marketing and business development from which to draw. The combination is unbeatable.”
