Monorail Inc.
Formerly | Monorail Inc. (1995–1998) |
---|---|
Company type | Private |
Industry | Computer hardware |
Founded | November 2, 1995 |
Founder |
|
Defunct | July 9, 2005 |
Fate | Dissolved |
Headquarters | Marietta, Georgia, U.S. |
Key people | Andrew Watson, VP of marketing |
Number of employees | 40 (1996) |
Website | monorail.com (archived) |
Monorail Inc., later the Monorail Computer Corporation,[1] was an American computer company founded in 1995 in Marietta, Georgia, by former Compaq executive Doug Johns.
The company produced the Monorail PC, which was an
According to
Monorail ceased operations in July 2005.
History
Foundation (1995–1996)
Principal founder H. Douglas "Doug" Johns (born c. 1948) was previously the president of Compaq's personal computer division. He left in 1993, citing long hours, and took a sabbatical while holding his stock options in Compaq. Johns observed the computer industry from a distance and observed that the companies earning the most in sales were intelligent with their packaging and had their logistics in order. Johns felt that Compaq were opposites in the latter regard: "It seemed like we always had monitors in Singapore when we needed them in Europe or too many computers in Germany when we needed them in Italy".[4] Johns felt that he could compete with Dell and Gateway 2000 in the build-to-order market and sold $2 million worth of Compaq's shares to put into the formation of Monorail in 1995.[5]
Johns scouted two of his colleagues from Compaq, David Hocker and Nicholas Forlenza, to co-found the company with him. The core marketing strategy the three laid out before production of any computers began was to combine the slim inventory of Gateway and Dell (due to their build-to-order nature) with the trust afforded by tangible goods on the retail floor, as Compaq had managed.[6] This marriage of approaches was dubbed "Dellpaq" by Andrew Watson, Monorail's VP of marketing in 1997, and was to be further augmented with a sub-$1000 price, to entice first-time computer buyers.[7] The co-founders soon hired other technology companies to manage the company and design its products.[5] Most of Monorail's initial executive roster included employees from Texas Instruments, Global Village, and Oracle.[7] The California-based NameLab was hired to conjure the Monorail trademark.[8]
As Johns felt that packaging optimization was crucial, he and his colleagues built the prototype for an
Phelps, a
Market introduction (1996–1997)
External videos | |
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Overview of a Monorail PC on YouTube (by Michael MJD) |
The Monorail PC was released in late November 1996 at a
The computer sold well at CompUSA, becoming one of the top five best-selling computers within two months. Some of CompUSA's 122 locations hiked the price up by as much as $100, which CompUSA's marketing VP Andrew Watson said was a consequence of the company's flexible pricing agreement.[16] Monorail later gained Circuit City, MicroWarehouse, and Egghead Computer as retail partners and Ingram Micro, SED International, and Tech Data as enterprise distributors.[19]
While the Monorail PC initially seemed to be performing well, stiff competition from computer companies introducing sub-$1000 desktops in 1997 led sales to flounder. According to Roy Edwards of Colorado Electronic, "the same time the Monorail product hit the market, the market fell apart and there seemed to be increased competition".
Reorganization and decline (1997–2003)
In late December 1997, Monorail introduced three standard mini-towers with processors ranging from an
Johns left Monorail in 2002 to become senior VP of worldwide operations at Internet Security Systems. In 2009, he was named chief executive officer of Nivis, a developer and integrator of wireless sensor networks based in Atlanta.[23] The website for Monorail Inc. went dark sometime in 2003, and the company itself was formally dissolved on July 9, 2005.[24][25]
Citations
- ^ a b Shmukler 1998.
- ^ Hayes 2002, p. 30.
- ^ O'Crockett 1998.
- ^ a b c d Ramstad 1997, p. B1.
- ^ a b Ramstad 1997, p. B1; Young 1996, p. 181.
- ^ Row 1997, p. 48; Anderson & Narus 1999, pp. 132–133.
- ^ a b Row 1997, p. 48.
- ^ a b Kanell 1996a, p. F2.
- ^ a b Ramstad 1997, p. B1; Allison 1998.
- ^ Kanell 1996a, p. F2; Ramstad 1997, p. B1.
- ^ a b Goldsberry 1996.
- ^ a b Goldsberry 1996; Roth 1998.
- ^ a b c d Roth 1998.
- ^ Corcoran 1996.
- ^ Kanell 1996b, p. Q2.
- ^ a b Kempner 1997, p. F2.
- ^ Deck 1996, p. 20; Kempner 1997, p. F2.
- ^ Manes 1997, p. C5.
- ^ Allison 1998.
- ^ Roth 1998; Allison 1998.
- ^ Staff writer 1997, p. 44.
- ^ Evans 1998, p. 146; Layne 2000, p. 48.
- ^ Staff writer 2009.
- ^ Monorail Inc. 2003.
- ^ Georgia Secretary of State 2022.
References
- Allison, David (January 9, 1998). "Monorail hires a new company to make its PCs". Atlanta Business Chronicle. American Business Journals. Archived from the original on September 20, 2002.
- Anderson, James C.; Narus, James A. (1999). Business Market Management: Understanding, Creating, and Delivering Value. Prentice Hall. ISBN 9780135226575.
- "Business Search – Monorail Computer Corporation". Georgia Corporations Division. Office of the Georgia Secretary of State. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- Corcoran, Elizabeth (November 6, 1996). "The PC Stands for 'Price-Conscious'". The Washington Post. p. C11. Archived from the original on August 28, 2017.
- Deck, Stewart (October 28, 1996). "Monorail tracks into low-cost PC market". Computerworld. 30 (44). IDG Publications: 20 – via Google Books.
- Evans, Frank J. (June 30, 1998). "Monorail NPC 7230 NT". PC Magazine. 17 (12). Ziff-Davis: 168 – via Google Books.
- Goldsberry, Clare (November 11, 1996). "Monorail Jumps Aboard Computer Market". Plastics News. Crain Communications. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022.
- Hayes, Frank (November 18, 2002). "The Story So Far". Computerworld. 36 (47). IDG Publications: 30 – via Google Books.
- Kanell, Michael E. (November 10, 1996). "Computer options expand as firms shift the focus to first-time buyers". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises: Q2 – via ProQuest.
- Kanell, Michael E. (October 27, 1996). "Marietta company ready to market $999 computer". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises: F2 – via ProQuest.
- Kempner, Matt (January 16, 1997). "Monorail computers a hot product". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Cox Enterprises: E3 – via ProQuest.
- Layne, Arri (February 29, 2000). "Monorail Inc". Fast Company. 5 (12). Mansueto Ventures: 48. Archived from the original on January 31, 2015.
- Manes, Stephen (January 28, 1997). "Your $1,000 Computer May Not Be So Grand". The New York Times: C5. Archived from the original on September 29, 2009.
- O'Crockett, Roger (October 12, 1998). "PC Makers Race to the Bottom". Bloomberg Businessweek. Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022.
- Ramstad, Evan (December 29, 1997). "A PC Maker's Low-Tech Formula: Start With the Box". Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company: B1 – via ProQuest.
- Roth, Stephen (February 6, 1998). "Phelps Technologies Inc. files for Chapter 11 in KC". Kansas City Business Journal. 16 (21). American Business Journals: 1. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022.
- Row, Heath (December 1997). "This 'Virtual' Company Is for Real" (PDF). Fast Company. 2 (12). Mansueto Ventures: 48. Archived from the original on November 21, 2007.
- Shmukler, Evelina (November 23, 1998). "Monorail back on course with newest computer". Atlanta Business Chronicle. American Business Journals. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022.
- Staff writer (December 22, 1997). "Monorail debuts trio of MMX desktop PCs". PC Week. 14 (53). Ziff-Davis: 44 – via Gale OneFile.
- Staff writer (December 17, 2009). "Nivis names Doug Johns Chief Executive Officer". Automation. International Society of Automation. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022.
- "Welcome to Monorail". Monorail Inc. March 23, 2003. Archived from the original on March 23, 2003. Compare to next available archive snapshot.
- Young, Monica (November 1, 1996). "Ex-Compaq executives start new company". Computer Reseller News (709). CMP Publications: 181 – via ProQuest.
External links
- Official website at the Wayback Machine (archived January 25, 1997)