CMS Agrees to Market TriGem’s Computer Line
CMS Enhancements Inc. said Monday that it has formed a joint venture with an affiliate of South Korea’s largest personal computer maker, TriGem Corp., to distribute the Korean firm’s computers in the United States.
Under the agreement, the two companies will jointly market TriGem computers in the United States. The two firms did not disclose financial details of the transaction.
“After carefully searching for the right U.S. marketing partner, we have found the highest level of synergy between TriGem and CMS,” TriGem Chairman Young M. Kimm said. “We are now looking at how we can most effectively combine TriGem’s product development and manufacturing capabilities with the marketing, distribution and sales strengths of CMS.”
CMS, based in Tustin, manufactures and distributes disk drives and related computer equipment.
TriGem manufactures computers for Japan’s Seiko Epson Corp., which are sold under the Epson name. But it plans to introduce its own line of computer products for sale in the United States. Michael Sullivan, a TriGem spokesman, said the company has spent more than $15 million developing the product line, which will be introduced at the Comdex trade show next week.
TriGem employs about 2,000 people in South Korea and 30 at its U.S. subsidiary in Santa Clara. The company contacted a number of potential partners before choosing CMS, Sullivan said.
Neither company would say whether CMS would be the exclusive distributor of TriGem products in the United States.
TriGem plans to introduce 21 products, including personal computers, workstations, laptop and notebook computers, fax machines and other telecommunications products.
“We are very excited about the strong, competitively priced computers that the company has developed for the U.S. and look forward to being the marketing arm of a very successful and enduring effort,” said Jim Farooquee, president and chief executive of CMS.
Bill Lackey, a CMS spokesman, said the company viewed the long-term agreement as an opportunity to expand its distribution business. He said he did not know how much the agreement would contribute to CMS sales.
Mark Matheson, an analyst with the Newport Beach investment firm Cruttenden & Co., described the announcement as the “best news from the company I’ve heard in a while.” Based on the breadth of the products being introduced, he estimated that the agreement could generate up to $20 million in additional sales for CMS next year.
