Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, June 22, 1994 TAG: 9407200019
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: LON WAGNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Robert Martinet, one of three men who left ITT Corp. in Roanoke to form FiberCom in 1982, said the sale would mean no change in the Roanoke operation, which employs 200.
FiberCom formed a subsidiary, NetEdge Inc., in December and established that operation in Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. Shortly after that, Martinet said FiberCom hired an investment banker to sell off the rest of the company.
"It looks like that's coming to fruition," he said. "I'm very happy that we can accommodate the deal in such a way our shareholders will benefit and am very happy that no jobs will be lost."
Martinet said the deal was not final and declined to identify the potential buyer. He said he would stay in Roanoke with the company as plant manager.
FiberCom is a privately held company with about 100 shareholders. Martinet said a substantial number of the shareholders are Roanoke Valley residents.
Martinet, Al Bender and Jack Freeman founded FiberCom after leaving ITT's Electro-Optical Products Division. FiberCom designs and builds customized network systems for clients such as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Boeing and the Department of Defense.
Bender moved to Raleigh to head up NetEdge, which is trying to develop a niche providing equipment to simultaneously transmit voice, video and data over a fiber-optic cable.
Martinet said FiberCom is an attractive company for businesses trying to get into the networking industry, because the industry is difficult to develop from scratch. He said the prospective buyer wants to expand FiberCom's business by 20 percent a year.
"The guys that are considering purchasing us have substantially more means than we have. Certainly, they can afford to invest more into what is a growing marketplace," Martinet said.
by CNB