Doelz Tentatively Agrees to Joint Venture

Doelz Networks Inc., an Irvine maker of data communication equipment, said it has tentatively agreed to jointly develop and market new products with Network Equipment Technologies Inc. in a deal that the companies heralded as offering them “unrivaled” opportunities in the data communications market.

Although the tentative agreement stops short of an outright merger of the two companies, Doelz President Frank Conners did not rule out that possibility. “Who knows what might happen down the road?” Conners said. “Now we see strong synergies between the companies, but we are now both strong, proud and independent companies.”

Conners said the joint marketing agreement will allow the companies to offer a complete range of data communication equipment to large corporations looking to develop their own high-speed data networks. Customers typically include banks and other large institutions that need to transmit data rapidly over great distances.

Network Equipment, of Redwood City in Northern California, was founded in 1983 and in the last 3 1/2 years has developed into a leading supplier of private network voice, video and data transmission equipment. The company, which recently went public, has sales of about $60 million annually.

Doelz, a privately held company founded in 1979, makes data communications and networking equipment. Doelz’s family of products is best known for its compatibility with a variety of networks.