Swimming with the big guys.Beach City Computers proves to be a formidable contender Last year, Los Angeles-based Beach City Computers had sales of $278,000, up from $150,000 in 1999. Beach City assembles desktop computers from parts made in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, or shipped in from Taiwan. Computers have been President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. James Anderson's passion nearly all his life. So, in 1994, faced with downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing and early retirement as head of the mainframe division at Allied Signal Corp. (now Honeywell), Anderson chose to open his own computer-manufacturing firm. After working in the industry since 1968 at Allied Signal and IBM (International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY, www.ibm.com) The world's largest computer company. IBM's product lines include the S/390 mainframes (zSeries), AS/400 midrange business systems (iSeries), RS/6000 workstations and servers (pSeries), Intel-based servers (xSeries) , Anderson set up shop out of his Diamond Bar, California Diamond Bar is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The population was 56,287 at the 2000 census. It is named after the "diamond over a bar" branding iron registered in 1918 by ranch owner Frederick E. Lewis. , home with $5,000 from his savings. His goal was "to introduce low-cost CPUs assembled in America that will use the powerful business programs you're accustomed to using at the office," says 63-year-old Anderson. Increased business justified the opening of an outside, full-service shop in 1996 in Carson, California Carson is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, Carson had a total population of 89,730. It is located 13 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, and is classified as a suburb of the city. . It employs six full-time staffers and freelance contractors as needed as needed prn. See prn order. . In order to compete with the major players, Anderson came up with a unique strategy. "Using IBM and Dell as business models, I provide a service to the smaller customer--filling orders for up to 5,000 computers. I can just as easily service the customer who wants one system built," says Anderson. "The larger companies aren't actively targeting the smaller accounts. I am, and I provide hands-on customer service, which many of the larger firms don't readily do." Beach City builds Pentium systems and servers, and offers maintenance contracts that include labor for hardware repairs, on-site problem resolution, technical support, and system configuration together with customer training. The average order is 30 to 50 systems, with costs ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 per computer. Maintenance contracts average $100 monthly, depending on the size of the network. "I'm looking at providing systems to larger local businesses, organizations, churches, and schools," says Anderson. Last year he received an SBA SBA abbr. Small Business Administration Noun 1. SBA - an independent agency of the United States government that protects the interests of small businesses and ensures that they receive a fair share of government loan through Founders Bank in Los Angeles to assist with his planned expansion. While Beach City Computers started small, Anderson has big dreams. "We may not be Dell or IBM now, but tomorrow we will be." Beach City Computers, 455 E. Carson Plaza Dr., Suite H, Carson, CA 90746; 310-532-8801; www.beachcitycomputersinc.com. |
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