At the Progress User Conference held yesterday near Heathrow, John Sidgmore, chairman, and Paula Jagemann, president and CEO of ECI2, told delegates of their plans to invest in the recently acquired Interactive Products.
The conference was opened by Ron Wotherspoon, MD, who said that being a part of ECI2, a large International group committed to driving technological innovations for office products and related industries, would help the company meet the needs of its user base. He added that he trusted the new parent to honour and respect relationships in place with customers, saying that ‘far from being compromised, we will be enabled’.
Sidgmore and Jagemann outlined the background of ECI2 and their investment plans going forward, giving examples of other acquisitions where it has added resource and capital. Sidgmore commented: “We recognise there is some nervousness about the combination and we intend to work hard in the near term to prove we will be excellent partners.”
The company will be known as Interactive Products, a division of ECI2, and is now the group’s European headoffice. Ron Wotherspoon is continuing as MD of the UK business and taking on the role of CEO for ECI2 Europe. The short term is to see investment in the UK and Irish markets, with particular emphasis on speeding the development schedule for the Windows-based Progress which was previewed at the conference. Long term the company plans to use IP Progress to expand in Europe.
Over 220 delegates attended the conference, including both Progress and Advance users. Presentations were given by OyezStraker’s Hugh Sear and Integra’s Rick Needle, with Allan Crump of Alpha Office talking about the Progress system and Neil Green of Westhill about the Windows Advance system that his company is to trial.
14-Jun-2001
