SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY : WonderWare Sets Up Anything but an Easy Task for Next 3 Years
WonderWare Software Development Corp. has set itself some lofty goals. The question is whether the young Irvine firm can fulfill its ambitions.
The 18-month-old technology company hopes to corner a segment of the software market that involves designing personal computer software programs for use in factory automation applications.
Company officials say the market for such software, about $200 million a year, is projected to grow 35% to 50% annually. WonderWare hopes to corner $25 million in sales by 1992.
On Monday, WonderWare announced that it raised $1.1 million in financing from DSC Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture-capital firm, and from Houston Partners, a Houston investment company. DSC Ventures is affiliated with Novell Inc., a manufacturer of personal computer networks with headquarters in Provo, Utah.
The company also announced the hiring of Peter B. Pitsker, a former manager at General Automation Corp. in Anaheim and director of Triconex Corp. in Irvine, as its president and chief executive. WonderWare founder Dennis R. Morin was promoted from president to chairman and chief operating officer.
WonderWare said the new financing will be used for a marketing and sales program and general corporate purposes.
Morin said the privately held company has recently begun to market its first software product, called InTouch. The product enables factory technicians using personal computers to send and receive data from equipment on the factory floor.
WonderWare said growth of the market is being fueled by advances in microchip technology that are increasing the power of personal computers, allowing them to perform tasks that used to require much larger and more expensive computers. As PCs become more powerful, their use in industrial applications will become more widespread, Morin said.
The 11-employee firm should reach sales of $500,000 to $750,000 in 1989, Morin said. If the company’s forecasts hold true--always a big if in the technology business--WonderWare’s sales would zoom to $4.5 million in 1990, $10 million in 1991 and $25 million in 1992, he said.
Morin said orders for its InTouch program have been far exceeding the company’s forecast this year.
