Boeing Forms New Alliance Company To Sell Cargo Unit, Join Data Transmission Venture
The Boeing Co. moved to sell one business but launched another one last week, casting a vote for software over hardware.
Boeing said it will sell its Boeing Georgia subsidiary, which makes cargo handling equipment for commercial jets. The company also announced a partnership in DigitalXpress, a venture aimed at digital satellite transmission of video and data for businesses.
DigitalXpress will be a partnership of Boeing Commercial Space Co., Conus Communications and Computing Devices International. The new company will be headquartered in St. Paul, Minn., where Conus has a satellite uplink facility. Boeing Commercial Space also is involved in Sea Launch, a partnership that wants to launch rockets from floating ocean platforms.
Boeing spokeswoman Cindy Glickert said DigitalXpress aims to be an affordable alternative to conventional media, using off-the-shelf technology to send data and pictures direct to business customers. The service will cost around $1,500 for a satellite dish, receiver and computer interface, plus a transmission fee.
In addition to cost, the system’s advantage will be speed, Glickert said. A DigitalXpress customer could send a 300-page manual, for example, to any number of distribution points in 19 seconds, vs. 27 minutes per recipient via conventional electronic mail.
“The installed base of desktop computers is so explosive that the need for efficient information exchange is greater than ever,” said William Bearry, DigitalXpress president and chief executive. “We want to give corporations the ability to afford their own niche programming and information distribution network.”
Boeing will provide satellite and system integration expertise. Conus, a unit of Hubbard Broadcasting, supplies uplinking and broadcast experience. CDI, a unit of Ceridian Corp., will integrate information systems. The partnership hopes to announce its first customer next month.
Boeing isn’t announcing the buyer for Boeing Georgia, which employs about 700 people at a plant near Macon. Boeing bought the facility in 1980.
Boeing spokesman Paul Binder said the sale will be made as a result of Boeing’s 1995 make-buy study, in which the company decided which production processes it wanted to keep and which it will out-source to other firms.
Officials of Virginia-based Lucas Aerospace have been seen kicking the tires at the plant. Lucas was noncommittal about its interest.
“We are in discussions broadly with various companies for different mergers and acquisitions,” said Lucas spokeswoman Julie Ballesteros.
xxxx THE BENEFITS DigitalXpress would allow pharmaceutical companies to update records nationwide, or allow wide-scale video conferencing at low cost. The technology is basically the same as that already employed in direct-to-home digital broadcast systems.