Motherboard and graphics card vendor, Albatron, has signed on NSW-based Checksun and JTC Tasmania to build up its state presence.
Sales director, George Ibraham, said its goal was to appoint at least two distributors per state. He said Checksun would also be supplying its range in New Zealand.
"This is just to increase our coverage. We didn't have any presence in Tasmania and NZ," he said.
JTC Tasmania and Checksun join Impact Systems, Also Technology, Auscomp Computers and XiT in the vendor's distribution ranks. Checksun will have access to the whole range, while JTC will start off with video cards.
Checksun managing director, Bond Pan, said even though it already carried similar video card products, such as Point of View, Albatron targeted a different market segment. Its local heritage was also an advantage.
"We think there is a lot of potential business for this type of product in the NSW market and we can foresee it as a real positive in building up our business," he said. "Due to Albatron's local base, we will be able to speed up product delivery to suppliers and resellers."
JTC Tasmania state manager, Alan Anderson, said Albatron would bring it back into the computer market, which it stepped out of in early 2000.
"We moved away from that business because we wanted to concentrate more on Eaton Powerware and the printer business. I think it has come full circle and the opportunity was there to move back into it," he said. "When Omega pulled out, there was no virtual distributor in Tasmania and I thought there was a gap in the market we could fill: since then, the business has mainly been fragmented through Ingram and Synnex. I would like to think I can get a decent proportion of that market back."
In other news, JTC Tasmania has split from its parent company, JTC Australia, in WA. Anderson said it would continue to operate under the same name and offer the same brands, including Epson, Canon and Eaton Powerware.
"I wanted to grow the business but head office didn't and we were on the borderline of whether or not we were going to start going backwards in the volume we were moving," he said.
Anderson said he intended to expand its portfolio to cases and computer peripherals. He is currently in discussions with more vendors.
