SCIENCE/ TECHNOLOGY : Micro Technology Charging Ahead as Market Slumps

In a slumping computer market, one Orange County technology company appears to be thriving.

Micro Technology Inc. in Anaheim, a supplier of data storage products that recently expanded into the computer network market, expects to report sales of $80 million for its fiscal year ending March 31, 1991.

That would compare to earnings of $6.8 million and revenue of $54.5 million for the year ended last March 31.

Steve Hamerslag and Raymond J. Noorda, who acquired Micro Technology in September, 1987, have transformed the company from a circuit board manufacturer with 28 employees to a systems company with 300 employees.

The firm competes with Digital Equipment Corp. and smaller firms such as Systems Industries Inc. in Milpitas and Emulex Corp. in Costa Mesa

Earlier this year, Hamerslag, president and chairman, said the company is considering ways to raise new capital to continue its growth. Selling stock to the public is one of those options.

Datapro Research Group, a New Jersey market researcher, predicts that Micro Technology will be one of the survivors in an expected shakeout among companies that provide network management systems.

Datapro reviewed more than 25 systems in the crowded network management market and predicted only a few vendors will see any real profits, including Micro Technology, Cabletron Systems Inc., Sun Microsystems, NCR Corp. and perhaps a few others.

Network management systems are used by corporate computer managers to make sure that computer systems operate efficiently.

Datapro said Micro Technology is on a “fast track” because of its competitive pricing policies, its emphasis on the networking market and the quality of its products.