Concurrent Computer Corp, Oceanport, New Jersey, after fighting off threats of Chapter 11 last year with a radical refinancing, is staging a comeback with a newly streamlined organisation. Concurrent admits its troubles stemmed from the takeover of Massachusetts Computer Corp, saying that it paid too much for the company. With $75m stripped from its costs, it has repaid $10.2m of its bank debt and rationalised its domestic structure, cutting personnel and simplifying bureaucratic channels inherited from Perkin-Elmer Corp. Part of its recapitalisation plan is to cut research and development costs, cultivating partnerships to develop complete boxes. Ideally, the company is looking for a complete box to buy in. According to Joe Sicilian, vice-president international marketing and sales, the company is very happy with MIPS Computer Systems Inc and would welcome MIPS-hosted products that provide the technology we need. Concurrent will be using the MIPS R4000 for its new high performance Unix 9000 series, adding to its MIPS R3000-based 8000 family of fault-tolerant real-time Unix multi-processors and the Motorola 68040-based 7000 family. Selling the two systems side by side, Concurrent says it has no plans to phase out the 7000s, as they serve the specific market of data acquisition more effectively than the MIPS systems. The proprietary 3200 minicomputer series will also be maintained, as it has five- to 15-year contractual obligations in various government and military installations. Concurrent is now focusing on its core simulation and (in Europe, where the firm does 45% of its business), health care markets. Concurrent Europe is based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.
