Motorola Inc’s UK operation Motorola Ltd has outperformed the group’s overall revenue growth which was up by 17% to $9,620m (CI No 1,347) by rising 50% to UKP681m with UK exports also up 50% to UKP262m. However, pre-tax profit fell slightly to UKP12m because of high interest rates and the cost of expansion such as its new East Kilbride semiconductor factory. Motorola Ltd is investing at the rate of UKP1m a week in its various businesses which include semiconductor products, automotive and industrial electronics, computer systems, the cellular communications division and Motorola Codex. The company, which is working to be as fastidious about quality as its Japanese rivals, claims to be on target to achieve Six Sigma quality control by 1992 (that is a default rate of 3.4 parts per million). Robert Jefferson, European general manager for Motorola’s Computer Systems division says that the growth rate for Motorola Unix computers continues to rise dramatically in terms of units shipped which stand at 9,000 for 1989 compared with 250 for 1986, the division’s first year of operation. However, he admits that since systems have become more competitively priced during this period that the revenue growth curve is not so steep. Approximately 45% of Motorola’s total computer systems business is derived from Europe and around half of that is made up of badged Motorola boxes. Nevertheless, the company has a persistent profile problem since until recently it was more successful in shipping unbadged boxes to companies such as Philips, Norsk Data and so on. Yet following deals such as that with Logitek (CI No 1,317) which is distributing top-end systems in the UK under Motorola’s own name, this anonymity is gradually disappearing. Jefferson is looking set up deals with value-added resellers in markets such as defence and health, but finds that few resellers can provide the necessarily high quality third party support. In the rest of Europe, Motorola is far better known as a computer manufacturer in its own right, claiming to hold pole marketing position for Unix boxes in Belgium and it also has a high profile in West Germany.
