Background and History

Company Background

Founded in 1978, CXtec has grown over our nearly 30-year history to become a $100 million company with more than 350 employees. We believe our corporate culture is one of our most important assets, and are proud to have been named among the "50 Best Companies to Work for in America" by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Great Place to Work Institute® in 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007.

CXtec has also been included on VARBusiness magazine's annual roster of "North America's Top 500 Technology Integrators" for four consecutive years. In 2005, CXtec joined the elite ranks of companies with an ISO 9001 Certified Quality Management System.

We are recognized as a leader in the IT marketplace, offering both new and equal2new® certified technology equipment. Our equal2new equipment is performance guaranteed hardware, backed with a lifetime warranty that usually exceeds the original manufacturer's warranty. CXtec stocks industry-leading brands such as Nortel, 3Com, and HP, and is committed to helping you find the perfect solutions for your business.

Our Customer Base

Nothing says more about the quality of a company than the company it keeps.

Our national, international, and local accounts include Hershey Foods Corporation; Becton, Dickinson and Company; Children's Hospital, Denver; Alverno Health Care; Le Moyne College; Cooper Industries; McKenzie Financial, Inc.; and ITT Industries, to name just a few. Even more impressive than the names of our clients is how long they've been with us: over 70% of our sales are to established customers. Clearly, our unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction isn't just lip service.

Our History

by William G. Pomeroy, Founder and CEO

The early history of CABLExpress Technologies saw a struggle to survive and grow in the dormant Syracuse, New York economy of the late 1970s. While I dreamed of running my own business for years, I was happy in my work as an IBM Large Mainframe Product Manager. Growing up in Binghamton, New York, neighbors became accustomed to my knock at the door. I was always selling something - candy for the school band, greeting cards to earn a fishing outfit. In the summer of 1955, my Kool-Aid stand grew into an all-day coffee, donuts and soft drink business at a nearby construction site.

I had no immediate plans in mind for starting my own business in January 1978, when office politics claimed my job. At home that night, I formulated the business idea that became CABLExpress. I resolved to risk my savings on a business that would deal in used IBM System 370 mainframe options - features, channels and memory. It would be a business conducted at a lower cost and greater efficiency over the phone. Its scope would be nationwide. This was important as I saw growth opportunities in the south and west regions of the United States, but little growth opportunity in upstate New York. New York State refused to register my first choice for the company's name - International Used Business Machines. Consequently, we adopted Reliance Used Computer Corporation, after my grandfather Edwin's company. His company, Reliance Machinery Sales, dealt in used and rebuilt machine tools in Pittsburgh during the 1920s and 1930s.

I ran the business out of my home with the assistance of my then wife, Mareta, who handled the phone, accounting and correspondence while I prospected and structured deals. The first year was profitable and within two years, we outgrew our home. Customers learned that we solved unusual problems and also handled mainframe equipment, chillers, air handlers, raised flooring and underfloor bus and tag cables. Despite the weakening economy and 18 percent interest rates, Reliance Used Computer continued to grow as more customers trusted us to help them stretch their downsized budgets with used IBM mainframe options.

An interesting side business developed in 1978 and lasted until 1983. IBM decided to stop providing replacement parts to its older transistor-based mainframes built in the 1960s. This left the United States Air Force in need, as it still used older IBM 7090 mainframes to operate over-the-horizon radar at its Ballistic Missile Early Warning System sites in Alaska, Greenland and England. I decided to provide parts support. We spent many weeks studying parts manuals and researching IBM's original parts vendors. Until the replacement of the 7090s in 1983, we were virtually the Air Force's sole source of parts for the computers watching for incoming Soviet Union missiles.

In 1980, I created the name CABLExpress to identify our growing business in IBM mainframe cables. Our feature, channel and memory business declined as IBM standardized its mainframe line with fewer add-on options. By 1985, we exclusively provided IBM underfloor cabling to the majority of the Fortune 500 companies. That year we relocated to a 10,000 square foot facility on Brighton Ave. in Syracuse to accommodate growing inventory and office staff.

In 1987 we installed a token ring network with IBM PS/2 computers and a PS/2 Model 60 server. The huge increase in productivity we experienced convinced me that every one of our customers would want to install similar networks. As a result, I decided to expand our mainframe cable business to include network cable products.

By 1989, our first networks catalog mailing brought a spike in sales. As our customer base grew, so did the company. In need of more space, we expanded into a second office building, an 8,000 square foot building next door. In the early 1990s, our mainframe business was strong and our new networking business grew so rapidly that we rented more space. The need for more space continued through the decade, and we acquired an exceptional 66,000-square foot building near the Syracuse airport in August of 1997. With space for up to 500 employees, we expect this facility to accommodate our needs for a long time.

The mid-1990s saw us reenter the used equipment business. OEMs like Nortel, 3Com and HP shortened their product life cycles and a vibrant used networking market emerged as users upgraded and needed to dispose of their older technology. We created the equal2new® brand to distinguish our used equipment from competitors. A facility was established to test and certify pre-owned equipment and we initiated an unconditional 5 year warranty - which has since been upgraded to a lifetime warranty on every equal2new networking product.

Our cable business has transitioned from copper bus and tag mainframe cables to fiber optic cables used in data and communications applications, along with a variety of network cables for LAN and WAN networking applications. We also sell new equipment from manufacturers like Cisco, Nortel, and 3Com. CXtec provides customers with unique solutions to meet their needs. Our objective? To help customers reduce the cost of their networking infrastructure.