Communication software developer WRQ Inc has postponed plans to open its second Asian office in Tokyo, Japan (CI No 3,425) amid fears that it could be affected by the region’s recession. The Seattle, Washington company’s executive vice president and one of its founders, Craig McKibben says WRQ still plans to open the office, but is waiting for the right people to fill the positions, as well as trying to avoid the economic problems. At some point in the future the 17-year-old company intends to become publicly listed and is working on raising its profile to achieve this and expanding its presence internationally. WRQ currently has offices outside of the US in the UK, France, Germany, Denmark, Holland and Singapore. South American operations are dealt with out of the US and the company’s distributors deal with business in Australia. One of the most likely ways WRQ will achieve its goals is with its Express2000 product (CI No 3,425), a software management offering that enables company to monitor and sort out their Year 2000 compliancy problems on the desktop. WRQ got its hands on Express2000 when it bought Express Systems a year and a half ago. Now the company is preparing to release an update, and says the product can still be used after Y2K problems have been rectified. The company is trying hard to drive its growth at the moment and McKibben says that despite a slow start to the fiscal year, he is confident it will meet its target for the year and remain profitable. With 700 staff on the payroll and two of its five founders still working for the company, WRQ is a far cry from what it was when it started life. McKibben says if there is one company whose business model it would like to emulate, it would be Hewlett-Packard Co. He said: HP has good products, treats its customers well and is very divisionalized. WRQ has recently established a group specifically to seek out new growth opportunities for the company. The New Technology Group has a team of five dedicated staff identifying new opportunities, although WRQ says it will welcome ideas from anywhere within its ranks.
