An Amherst technology company is moving into a new role halfway around the world.
PremCom Corporation has signed a deal to serve as a distributor for ShoreTel's Internet telephone products in the Middle East. Together with ESI/Technologies of Buffalo, PremCom has formed a new company in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates as a joint venture with a company in Dubai.
The new venture, PremCom Middle East, will sign up resellers throughout that region, while providing training and first-line technical and sales support.
PremCom, which provides phone, network and technology services, is ShoreTel's No. 1 reseller in New York and was named among the Top 25 resellers worldwide for its VoIP (voice over Internet protocol) products. In the last year, PremCom doubled its business with ShoreTel, said Peter Proulx, founder/president. This will be its first try as a distributor, he said.
The venture is expected to be significant: Projections call for $9 million in new revenue the first year, followed by $16 million and $23 million in years two and three, respectively.
"We'll have people on the ground there, and some people here providing technical support and oversight for management," Proulx said.
To start, its Dubai partner - Digital Planet - will provide engineering and sales staff, though PremCom ultimately will hire its own technical staff in the region. Proulx will travel back to Dubai later this summer to meet with potential resellers.
Locally, PremCom Corp. anticipates revenues this year of about $8 million, up from $6 million last year - half of which came from ShoreTel business. The company has 40 employees at its Northpointe Parkway office. In July, it opened a new office in Toronto, which should have six staff by year's end. That office is projected to generate $2 million in its first year, and up to $10 million by year three, Proulx said.
ESI/Technologies, a provider of Oracle-based manufacturing software solutions, is owned by Ralph Proulx (Peter's brother) and John Davies. Founded in 1964, the company has an existing network of clients in the Middle East.