Marc Walther is no William P. Conlin
Conlin the new CEO is legit. Below is some history of his former company and what he did. This guy knows how to manage and grow a company, that's for sure.
In 1983 Kosheff was replaced by William P. Conlin, a former executive at Burroughs Corp. Conlin reorganized CalComp from top to bottom, restructuring the manufacturing process in each division and implementing the innovative techniques of just-in-time manufacturing and inventory management. Conlin also instructed virtually every employee in the company to read Richard Schonberger's World Class Manufacturing: The Lessons of Simplicity Applied.
Conlin's changes proved fruitful. By 1988 CalComp's plotter division had reduced inventory by 65 percent, shortened cycle times, and cut the number of suppliers by 40 percent. These improvements contributed to a 62 percent increase in revenues. Similarly, CalComp's display division was able to reduce the time necessary to assemble a circuit board from 12 weeks to three weeks. When the process was transferred to CalComp's digitizer division, it reduced costs to such an extent that the company was able to move its assembly facilities in Singapore back to the United States.
Under Conlin, CalComp also revamped its marketing strategy. In 1983 the company began selling through Entre Computer centers, a value-added reseller of computer components. By 1988 sales through Entre accounted for 40 percent of total revenues. CalComp's distribution channels also became better balanced during this time. In the company's early years, 55 percent of CalComp's sales went directly to end-users, while 45 percent went to original equipment manufacturers. By 1988 this ratio had changed. Twenty percent of CalComp's sales went directly to end-users; the other 80 percent were sold to original equipment manufacturers, distributors, and other alternative channels. The company also sought to capture a segment of the growing personal computer market, cutting prices by as much as 38 percent on products such as its new 5800 series of electrostatic plotters. These maneuvers resulted in a doubling of all plotter sales within six months.
In 1986 Sanders Associates was purchased by Lockheed Corporation, and CalComp was merged into Lockheed's Information Systems Group. Lockheed took a hands-off management approach, however. It allowed Conlin to continue his transformation of the company. His new manufacturing and management strategy enabled CalComp to seriously challenge Hewlett Packard Co.'s number one ranking in the worldwide pen plotter market and Versatec Inc.'s leadership of the electrostatic plotter market. In 1988 CalComp edged out Hewlett Packard and Versatec for a $3 million contract to supply Mentor Graphics Corp. with electrostatic, pen, and thermal-transfer plotters. Mentor president Gerard Langeler told Electronics Business that the company desired "quality and breadth of product line, so we could deal with one supplier. CalComp not only won the evaluation but it was a reasonably clear win. It was not a nail biter." He cited CalComp's new focus on producing high-quality products as an important factor in the decision. "Their quality approach to manufacturing is particularly important in electromagnetic type devices.... CalComp appears to have done a very good job."
CalComp did have some failures during the 1980s, though. In 1984 the company established a separate division to sell peripheral products in the burgeoning personal computers market. Amid much fanfare, the company predicted the division would boost company sales to $1 billion by 1990. Although the division successfully established a presence for CalComp in the personal computers market, sales never really took off. The division was merged back into CalComp's other divisions by 1988.
By 1990 CalComp was firmly established as an international computer graphics peripheral company. It had manufacturing operations in the United States and sales and distribution subsidiaries in over 50 U.S. cities, Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Southeast Asia, New Zealand, and Australia. The company produced over 100 different versions of plotters, display systems, and digitizers and posted sales of $450 million.
Due to the growing complexity of CalComp's operations, Conlin reorganized the company once more in 1990. Each division was established as a separate company, with a separate president given sole responsibility for operations. These executives were given the autonomy to alter marketing or manufacturing as needed to respond to changes in the marketplace. Larry Sanders was named president of CalComp Plotter Co., Gary Long was named president of CalComp Digitizer Co., and Roger Damphousse was appointed president of CalComp Display Co. In addition, two sales and service companies were formed: CalComp Europe, with Theo Eering as president, and CalComp Asia/Pacific, with Doug May as president.
CalComp grew steadily in the early 1990s as the company introduced major new products in each of its divisions at a rate of about five products per year. In 1991 the company strengthened its presence in the CAD/CAM market with the purchase of Access Graphics Technology Inc., a leading distributor of computer aided design equipment. The company also entered into a number of strategic alliances. It signed a distribution agreement with Microsoft Corporation to bundle Microsoft Pen Extensions with CalComp digitizer tablets for use with Microsoft's Windows 3.1 software, and joined with Canon Corp. to enter the ink jet plotter market in 1993. In addition, CalComp broadened its distribution network, signing distribution agreements with Merisel and Tech Data in 1990 and another with Budde International in 1993. These agreements made CalComp's products available in over 120 countries. Gary Long was named president of CalComp in 1994, a year marked by continuing company efforts to refine its manufacturing techniques and revamp its cost structure.
As it nears its 30th anniversary of existence, CalComp seems to be on stronger financial ground than it has been during most of its history. Although sales continued to fluctuate (dipping to $230 million in 1993), the company is better equipped to ride out these downturns because of the relatively strong financial status of its parent company. The early years of the computer industry were difficult for small manufacturers like CalComp, and many similar operations failed to survive. CalComp's strong position today is testimony to its solid product line and tenacious management. These characteristics, combined with Lockheed's support, should keep the company financially healthy for years to come. |
