Hi,
Here's an interview with Martin Kaufman of Gruppo/TCI concerning the Jetcom partnership. By the way, another busy day (over 300,000 shares)at this time.
Frank
(from stockhouse.com )
SH:: What is the exact relationship between Gruppo TCI and Jetcom?
GRUPPO/TCI:We have a contract that we signed, a letter of intent, to proceed in developing Y2K facilities. It has been set up to deal with the market that currently exists and the demand for human resources for people to provide computer-programming services. We're going to supply human resource and potential clients that exist in the
marketplace in conjunction with JTCM. With JTCM, in the proposal we have signed, we would form a new company so that it remains within the Gruppo TCI framework.
SH:: Could you give us a background on Gruppo TCI?
GRUPPO/TCI: Gruppo TCI is involved in many different areas, including
technology. We're involved in consulting and bringing clients on line for the paper industry. We also sell wood. We represent many clients into the Caribbean markets, for many things such as furniture. Gruppo is a diversified trading organization with business relations established in a number of Caribbean-based countries.
SH:: How do you plan to split the consulting fees with JTCM?
GRUPPO/TCI: We are supplying the human resource and we are going to make a spread between the cost of that human resource and what the client in this marketplace is prepared to pay. There is an arrangement to do a 50-50 split with JTCM on profits that accrue in this new entity.
SH:: What is the size of the human resource from which you can tap?
GRUPPO/TCI: We have a capacity of up to 5,000 programmers with a reasonable number that can be assimilated in the short term - between 100 and 300. These programmers are available to specifically provide Y2K services.
SH:: Those are big numbers. How well trained are these programmers?
GRUPPO/TCI: There are three different categories that we have. We have senior programmers, which have 15 years-plus experience. The intermediate programmers have 8 to 12 years of experience. Our junior programmers have 5 to 8 years of experience. There's no one being integrated into our human resource pool that has less than five years programming. Obviously, there are more junior programmers than senior
ones, but we can deploy 20 to 30 project managers in Canada, or in any country that has a Y2K problem. Our initial scenario shows us having between 4 and 10 senior project managers in the Canadian marketplace feeding information down to intermediates, who in turn would supervise the junior programmers. That would give us the ability to process substantial amounts of information with this structure.
SH:: Why would companies go with a small firm such as Jetcom or an unknown like Gruppo TCI, instead of established Y2K companies that provide these services?
GRUPPO/TCI: In essence, the biggest single problem that exists in Y2K is the lack of human resource. Independent of the fact that there are qualified technicians in the North American market, there aren't anywhere near as many programmers available to meet the demand. In the contacts we have had in government and in private industry, they
simply can not get, or source, enough personnel to do the re-programming necessary.
SH:: What advantages do Jetcom and Gruppo TCI bring to the table?
GRUPPO/TCI: First, there's an attractive proposition in that we have the programmers, who are experienced and can work in COBOL, which is critical in re-programming. Secondly, we have the ability to provide that service at a lower cost than others in the marketplace, based on the fact that we have negotiated specific contracts with the
labor pool. This gives us an advantage, a substantial advantage over current rates being charged in the market place.
SH:: How have you been received in the Canadian marketplace, during your initial meetings?
GRUPPO/TCI: The reception has been very positive because we offer a solution that they have not been able to find. That's because the human resource doesn't exist here,right now.
SH:: How soon will it be before there are contracts nailed down?
GRUPPO/TCI: We're targeting the first of September to have project managers working in Canada. Over the next 30 days, we do expect to sign contracts.
SH:: What size of contracts are you anticipating?
GRUPPO/TCI: In terms of code, it depends specifically on the client. We are not looking to do massive projects that are going to require 300,000 lines of code. We will be working with smaller groups that are less complex and have less sensitive operations. The average contracts being targeted are in multiples of $60,000 to $100,000. Initially, we are targeting somewhere between 7 and 10 contracts per month for the first group of 30 programmers to start working on.
SH:: What types of clients are you hoping to bring into contract?
GRUPPO/TCI: Our main thrust has not been to go with a large corporation. There are a few large corporations in the Top 500, but there are thousands of corporations, which aren't Top 500, but still have the same problem. We're trying to give a solution to small
and mid-sized companies because everyone has the same problem.
SH:: Thank you Mr. Kaufman for consenting to this interview and providing us with a great deal of information about what to expect from the Gruppo TCI and Jetcom joint venture. |
