Commodore: A Company on the Edge by Brian Bagnall

Author:Brian Bagnall [Bagnall, Brian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Business & Money, Biography & History, Company Profiles, Computers & Technology, Business & Management, History, Company Histories
ISBN: 9780986832239
Amazon: B0087HTJNC
Publisher: Variant Press
Published: 2012-02-01T23:00:00+00:00

After Terakura departed with the prototype, Tramiel only allowed his personal assistant, Michael Tomczyk, to communicate with Japan because he felt too much discussion would slow down production. “Jack told me at beginning that all decisions having to do with this computer had to be run through me,” he recalls. “He refused to make me the product manager per se, but he said, ‘I’ve told everyone associated with this computer that all decisions relating to it have to be endorsed by you, so you’re going to have to do this by persuasion.’” This indirectly gave Tomczyk a degree of control over the project.

Tomczyk had been hired months earlier, in April, and now he held an important position on one of Commodore’s newest products. “Mike decided that he wanted to be in charge of this new computer that Commodore was sort of wanting to put out but wasn’t sure if it really wanted to put out because it only had 22 columns instead of at least 40,” recalls Commodore engineer Andy Finkel. “Mike decided that the price point was more important and he could make the VIC-20 a success.”

“I remember at one point Mike Tomczyk came in on the VIC-20 and said, ‘Okay, well I’m in charge of marketing this thing,’” recalls Yannes. “We had never heard of him before or seen him before, and we were like, ‘Okay.’” Yannes appreciated Tomczyk’s support on the VIC project. “He was very enthusiastic.”

Tomczyk communicated using a Telex machine, which was similar to a FAX machine except it handled only text. Tomczyk sent a flurry of costly telexes to Japan, which caught Tramiel’s attention. One day, as Tomczyk was standing in the hall, he was surprised to feel someone kick him from behind. When he turned around, it was Tramiel, who was giving a warning about the costs.

Tomczyk wanted to control the marketing of the new computer. “Back at that time, prior to 1984, marketing as a term or concept didn’t exist,” says Leonard Tramiel. “You had sales and advertising and product development, and they were done by separate groups.”

Tramiel sent Tomczyk to Japan to watch the release of VIC-1001 in preparation for the US release.

* * *

Commodore Japan’s general manager was Taro Tokai, known as Tony by westerners. Tokai was one of the most important general managers because of his ability to negotiate with parts suppliers in Asia, and he was skilled in setting up and operating manufacturing plants. “He was also getting the stuff out of Korea, and he was overseeing Korea and Taiwan until they built up the Hong Kong operation,” says Russell.

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