HIGH TECHNOLOGY : General Automation Purchases Rights to 2 Computer Systems

General Automation Inc., an Anaheim-based computer company, said Monday that it has purchased the rights to sell two lines of computer systems from Motorola Inc. for $36 million.

Under a multiyear agreement, Motorola Computer Group in Tempe, Ariz., will manufacture its Delta Series 3000 and Delta Series 8000 computers for General Automation, which will resell the computers to its own customers.

Leonard Mackenzie, General Automation’s president, said the agreement strengthens a seven-year relationship between the company and Motorola. Under that deal, General Automation has been building minicomputers based on Motorola’s family of microprocessors.

General Automation will customize the computers by enabling them to run the company’s business software applications based on the Pick and Unix operating systems, the basic software that controls the execution of programs within a computer. Unix is a popular, easy-to-use system that can accommodate many users at one time; Pick is designed for running business software applications.

“We have been extremely pleased with Motorola’s products and cooperation,” Mackenzie said. “Motorola continues to work with us to provide our company a clear picture of their current and future development programs.”

Sherwood King, vice president of sales for General Automation, said the company will continue to manufacture its own line of computers based on the Pick operating system.

However, he said the company saw a need to expand its line to include computers based on the Unix operating system. The easiest way to do that was to purchase the rights from Motorola, he said.

Warren Blossom, vice president of sales at Motorola’s commercial products division in Cupertino, said General Automation can target customers in Europe and Asia with the computers purchased from Motorola. He said volume shipping will begin in January.