2 Former AST Engineers Will Start R&D; Firm : Electronics: They will develop computers and communications gear in Irvine for a subsidiary of a Hong Kong manufacturing conglomerate.
Two former key engineers at AST Research Inc. are forming a new research and development subsidiary in Irvine for a major Hong Kong computer manufacturer.
Thomas Craft and Thomas Ludwig plan to begin operations this month developing computers and communications equipment for Video Technology Computers, a Hong Kong manufacturing conglomerate that makes IBM-compatible computers. The company sells its computers in the United States under a variety of brand names, including Laser and Leading Technology.
Craft, who resigned as head of AST’s portable computer-engineering department two months ago, said he views his new job as “an opportunity to do engineering research with autonomy.” Craft said the Hong Kong company, which has a similar research unit in Vancouver, British Columbia, wants to develop technology for the next generation of personal computers.
Ludwig, former director of advanced products engineering at AST, left the company a year ago but had continued doing some consulting work. He will be president of the Video Technology subsidiary, while Craft will likely serve as vice president.
Ludwig and Craft were key designers of some of AST’s most important products and technology, including the company’s Cupid-32 architecture, which essentially allows AST’s computers to be upgraded more easily than some competitors’ machines. They also directed research on the company’s Premium Exec notebook-computer line, which accounted for 30% of AST’s sales last quarter.
Analysts said the loss of the veteran engineers, who were known to AST employees as “Tom and Tom,” could be a blow to AST.
“If all they need to do is enhance their current product lines, it isn’t such a big deal,” said Marcia Sanford, an analyst at Dataquest Inc., a San Jose market-research firm. “But it would concern me if technology people were not happy with the future direction of the company.”
Added Benny Lorenzo, an analyst at the New York investment bank of Dillon Read & Co.: “Any time you lose talented people like this, it’s troublesome. But I wouldn’t be overly concerned about it affecting (AST’s) financial performance, given the maturity of the market, the size of AST and the depth of its engineering department.”
Craft and Ludwig formerly worked for Albert Wong, an AST co-founder who quit the company in 1988 after a dispute with co-founders Safi U. Qureshey and Thomas C.K. Yuen.
“People raised concerns when Albert left three years ago (but) AST kept moving forward,” Qureshey said. “People failed to recognize that Tom and I have strong engineering backgrounds. We continue to innovate.”
AST has 200 engineers, Qureshey noted, and the departure of any one individual won’t hurt the organization.
AST has lost some other top executives recently. John C. Olson, vice president of worldwide manufacturing, resigned for personal reasons in November, and James W. Ashbrook, senior vice president of marketing, left in April.
The company’s stock price has fallen from a high of $32 a share earlier this year to a Monday close of $17.50, down $1 in over-the-counter trading. Analysts have attributed the decline to the continuing computer slump and renewed competition from Compaq Computer Corp.
