THE CUTTING EDGE : PLOWSHARES : Logical Transition : Writer of Technical Manuals Shifts Gears

One of the more interesting how-to guides to defense conversion is being written by Gordon Penharlow.

His little Monrovia firm, Pacific Multitech Inc., has been writing technical manuals for manufacturing, operating and maintaining aircraft parts, radar, communications gear and other defense equipment since 1969.

But a few years ago, Penharlow saw the handwriting on the wall.

Sensing the downturn in military spending, he set his modest team of seven employees to writing manuals for complex, commercial computer software. The software is used by a variety of companies for their interoffice communications networks, financial planning and administration, Penharlow said.

“We didn’t drop aerospace, we merely added another capability,” he said. Sales of Pacific Multitech, which is privately held, should top $1 million this year--and 35% of that will be generated by its new commercial lines, he said.

It was a logical transition. In compiling its defense-related manuals, Pacific Multitech itself employs sophisticated word processors and computer graphics systems, using dozens of different software packages.

The manuals that arrive with those packages are often tough to decipher. So Pacific Multitech figured it could write better manuals that are free of computer jargon and easier for software users to understand.

Penharlow has no plans to abandon the beleaguered defense industry, however. Although overall spending for new military equipment is sliding, there’s still strong demand for defense electronics and communications systems that rely on state-of-the-art technology--and whose users need manuals.

When defense spending began waning, “initially it took a chunk out of our business,” Penharlow said. “But it has come back, and the past 18 months have been very good for us.”