A small French firm is set to have its hard disk subsystems manufactured under licence in the US – definitely not banal, as French weekly 01 Informatique proudly notes. French national pride has been stimulated by the success of IEF Informatique Electronique Franaise SA’s Disk Pack in international markets, which has led to a manufacturing and marketing deal with hard disk maker Dictaphone. Disk Pack is a fixed and portable high capacity hard disk subsystem that Gilles Deban, managing director of IEF, reckons is soon to be a leader in its field. The $12m-a-year IEF does over half of its business outside France, with 60% of exports going to the US, where customers include the National Aeronautics & Space Administration and the Central Intelligence Agency. According to Deban, the Dictaphone deal, which is expected to a generate around $5m in revenues a year, has the dual advantage of reducing transport costs to a market where demand is high, and of giving Disk Pack more credibility. The US is, however, just one target on which IEF has set its sights. Duban states that next year will see IEF adopt a much more attacking and well organised commercial policy in Europe – and this is already in motion with the recent introduction of the Disk Pack into Olivetti Systems & Networks’ catalogue.
