ESCOM, before times "„Schmitt of computer systems GmbH "“, was a company, which was concerned with the trade and the production of computers and computer accessories. From the initial letter of the founder surname "„S "“- as expressed when spelling - "„IT "“became, in combination with the first syllable of the Hauptproduktes "„computers "“then "„ESCOM "“.

Manfred Schmitt from Darmstadt had begun in the year 1986 in its music business chain organ Schmitt to offer also computers. It created 1991 the company ESCOM.

In the year 1993 the ESCOM AG (Heppenheim) went to the stock exchange. Their business grew so fast that it controlled already 1994 11.2 % of the German PC market. The conversion amounted to 2.35 billion D-mark. Several hundred sales shops belonged in 10 European countries to ESCOM. ESCOM had created it to the world-wide second largest PC salesman. ESCOM manufactured in Heppenheim also - in the sense that prefabricated components were installed such as motherboards, housing, non removable disks etc. ("“nut runners"”).

ESCOM shareholders were among other things at that time still the distributing house source (25 %), the PC manufacturer and/or chip supplier Siemens Nixdorf (12.5 %), in family hand, which at that time not yet with the Hypo fused Bavarian association bank (16 %) and the gold serrating works (7 %). The remainder of the shares was in the strewing possession and/or in the hand of the founder.

Still 1995 bought up ESCOM the rights at Amiga from the bankrupt's estate of Commodore and announced to want to copy the C64 and the Amiga computer. The Amiga models A4000T and A1200 were also actually again presented and sold with certain success by the again created subsidiary Amiga Technologies GmbH (Bensheim). The first new development, the Amiga Walker, was pointed to the CeBit 96 for the first time the public, however never went into series - because ESCOM was dissolved before: The financial year 1995 exhibited 185 millions DM of losses. The principal shareholders did not undertake anything for rescue.

The set Top box manufacturer VisCorp made of Chicago (the USA) made 1996 first headlines in April, as he the assumption of the ESCOM daughter at that time Amiga Technologies GmbH (Bensheim) planned. Allegedly VisCorp and ESCOM were already partners and already knew each other from the time, when Bill Buck and ESCOM founder Manfred Schmitt attended 1995 the creditor meeting of Commodore together, where the Amiga rights were auctioneered for the first time. After the sales of the rights in April 1995 VisCorp took up negotiations over an Amiga license agreement with the victorious Bieter - i.e. the new Amiga nut/mother company ESCOM -, in order to be able to use the technology for the manufacturing of set Top boxes. These licenses received it also in January 1996. Afterwards the bankruptcy of ESCOM appeared slowly and sales negotiations began - the assumption plans were publicly communicated on 11 April 1996. Allegedly Bill Buck and his Mrs. Raquel Velasco have thereupon also first from June to November 1996 the salaries, taxes and social security contributions of the Amiga personnel from own bag pays. ESCOM placed petition for opening composition proceedings on 3 July 1996 and on 15 July 1996 had the connection bankruptcy to be requested.

ESCOM was taken over afterwards by the chain of stores Comtech computer systems and Amiga was then sold nevertheless not at VisCorp, but to the PC sender gateway 2000.

Related links

• http://www.heise.de/ct/96/08/018 ascent and case - little hope for ESCOM
• http://www.schoene-aktien.de/Escom_alte_aktien.html ESCOM - Ascent and case of a computer giant
• amigahistory.co.uk (English)

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