T
he 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 Cisco, 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.
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