These bespoke Xenotron machines were killer products in the 1980s.. Joining
I've recently completed the third and final part of my "Xenotron" Capitalist Case Study. All three parts describing the relatively brief existence of Xenotron ) can be found in these links:
Part I: Rise and Fall 1976 to 1986
Part II: Under the Doctors 1987 to 1989
Part III: Creative Destruction 1990 to 1991
Having now got an overview of all three parts it is likely that the whole history now needs a rewrite at some stage; if I get round to it.
The corresponding blog posts for Part I and Part II can be found here:
Some might call the existence of Xenotron a flash in the pan. But like a super nova explosion it seeded the world with the elements of many an idea; hence "Creative Destruction".
Below I reproduce the introduction to the final part "Creative Destruction".
Introduction
The Xenotron Adventure
In Part II we saw how by October 1986 Xenotron had become a subsidiary of Dr. –Ing. Rudolf Hell of Keil. By the spring of 1990 when the history in this episode starts business in Xenotron’s high profit margin legacy technology was still brisk although on a downward curve. Ominously Xenotron’s CEO and “company doctor” Danny Chapchal resigned in late 1989. Chapchal’s vision to turn Xenotron into a high-volume low profit margin business was clearly incomplete although high volume & low profit margins were the industry trend. So, it remained to be seen what Dr Hell would do with Xenotron. As we shall see in this part Hell merged with Linotype and from the first signs that this merger was going to take place it became apparent that there was no rationale for the continued existence of Xenotron as a corporate identity and Xenotron’s remnants were, in fact, wound up in less than 18 months. Some of the details of this wind up can be found in this history. But let me caution once again: My perspective as a bits-and-bytes programmer was limited to observing rumour, memos and press releases – others who were closer to the management action will know more. This history, therefore, is a personal view; in fact early on in my Xenotron career I must have realised that something interesting was happening in Diss because for some reason I started collecting memos, documents, press clips and even hearsay as soon as I joined in 1984.
Xenotron was not only a great adventure while it lasted, but it had also made its name in the history of printing. This fact was recognised by the London Science Museum who had commissioned a working XVC2 page makeup exhibit. When I started with the company in February 1984 it was still (just) riding the crest of the wave: Small, intimate and with improvised warehouse premises in the insignificant market town of Diss, it had the feel of a rural cottage industry and yet it was manufacturing and selling a world beating product. That I had arrived at the peak of its business when from then on the only way was down wasn’t noticeable for another year or two – although having said that those with a management overview probably saw the writing on the wall sooner.
I
have to make a confession here: Although
I thoroughly enjoyed tinkering around with the bits and bytes of Xenotron
software I had no vision for a fast changing market and quite frankly the high
level whys and wherefores of the printing industry bored me. I was quite happy to
leave the management view to others who would be much more competent than
myself in that field. I was there to earn some money (fortunately in a job I
enjoyed) so that I could get on with my own self-inflicted research projects at
home. But somehow these private endeavours were to become linked to Xenotron’s
culture of success: Understandably there was a feeling abroad at Xenotron that
it was possible for an upstart small player to punch well above their weight
even in a global context. As Tim Coldwell puts it in an email I reproduce
toward the end of this history: “I
believe that the main thing is to have a go and I am very pleased to hear that
such a spirit is once more emerging in the formation of Hydra Design”. Hydra Design was the Xenotron spin-off I was
to join in the autumn of 1991 when the remnants of the Diss operation were wound
up completely. But well before that, the have-a-go-spirit
Tim Coldwell talks of had affected me. After all, from 1984 I was part of a world
conquering team who were making printing industry history and that made me feel
that I also could achieve anything.
Personal impact
From
an early age I experienced what I can only call the existential shock of
finding myself with that enigmatic gift of the conscious awareness of existence
and identity. What was the explanation of this self-awareness? There seemed to
be none; my existence was unjustified, a brute fact that had no deeper
explanation. Conscious existence was a huge
mystery to me and this mystery prompted me to question, probe, and investigate
from an early age. During those long school holidays in my first job as a
reluctant science teacher I would explore and write as a kind a therapy that
would bring a quietus to my existential dread. I mention this very personal
aspect of my life because joining Xenotron may have a bearing on the history of
my private research and above all my confidence. On arriving at Xenotron I seemed to get new impetus and
optimism in my private work as unaccountably things started falling into place
leading to new thoughts on probability, randomness, Thinknet and Quantum Mechanics; all very ambitious, very audacious projects, but in many respects I regard them as successful in illuminating my predicament. I remember in particular those evenings
at some very pleasant hotels as I returned late from an enjoyable day working
on site programming the XVCs in machine code….I would then proceed to work on
my own projects. The unspoken Xenotron ethos was that confidence, optimism, a willingness
to have a go, supplemented by some hard
graft was all that was needed to achieve one’s objectives; you can make history
even if you’re a yokel in an obscure market town in a rural area. This ethos
had rubbed off on me. It was during this time that I wrote my one and only
officially published paper on the subject of probability (See aforementioned
links). Looking back, I can only think that my having the temerity to think I could publish in a prestigious philosophy journal must have had something to do with the "have-a-go" spirit of Xenotron. Also I compiled a private paper on the nature of randomness and
latterly started on my Thinknet project. These projects were just the precursor
of even more grandiose thoughts which were expressed during my time with Hydra
Design (See aforementioned links). I trace at least part of my ambitions or
should that be my over ambition to
the influence of my Xenotron days where unbridled optimism and punching above one’s
weight felt like normalcy. The message at the heart of Xenotron’s success was
“Upstarts can do it!”
The Demise
But
as we shall see in this history confidence can cut both ways because one cannot
easily factor in the business market (or the ideas market or that matter) which
has a mind of its own. The
ever-changing worlds of both technical innovation and the demands of the market
are a product of a coupled system: Viz: Technical innovation effects market
demand and conversely market demand effects technical innovation. You can bet a
complex feedback system like this is going to be non-linear and therefore
liable to the unpredictables of chaotic complexity; such complexity readily
humbles the overconfident by proving that winning streaks don’t last forever.
But
I can’t complain: My eight years at Xenotron, even though they were its
decaying years were still very special and exciting (not least because the
resolve behind my private work had been strengthened by the Coldwell upstart-spirit).
For this thanks must go to Tim Coldwell
and Ian Houghton who started the whole saga that many employees look back on as
some of the best years of their working lives.
For
me personally I also thank the following: Thanks must go to Martyn Elmy and Bob
Lesley who made me feel welcome when I first joined Xenotron (Bob & Martyn went
on to start the Xenotron spin-off company Centurfax). Thanks also to Peter
Rouse who for a while was my software manager and who supported me when I was
involved in an awkward installation with an unreasonable customer. Also special thanks must go to Laurie
Dickson who always seemed a calm and understanding manager: I enjoyed 15 years
in his Xenotron spin-off company “Hydra Design”. Unfortunately, Peter Rouse,
Laurie Dickson, Martin Elmy and Tim Coldwell are no longer with us but they
will remain in our memories.
When
I look back I realise how fortunate I was to join Xenotron: “Good luck” some
would call it. It was a unique history-making company at the top of its game. Situated
as it was, not in some impersonal inner city office block or a sprawling boring industrial estate churning out boring old widgets, but instead in the bucolic environment on the border of the rural
counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. It was therefore close to nature and the
agricultural base of all civilisations. Perhaps I’m stretching it a bit, but it
was the kind of location the 18th century romantics could write
poetry about. Moreover, picturesque Constable Country was just a little way
down the road. And yet in spite of its location Xenotron was a cutting-edge high-tech world class company. It was as if the existential angst which has so often accompanied the contention between nature and wealth generating smoke-stack industry,
a contention which triggered the romantic reaction, had at last been resolved.
Most
jobs are relatively routine unromantic bread & butter type jobs situated in
boring environments, but Xenotron was refreshingly different on both counts. But
for me it very nearly didn’t happen. I was unemployed at the beginning of 1984
and I had already applied for many jobs. The application for the Xenotron
vacancy nearly didn’t get posted as it lay neglected on our sideboard and only
eventually got posted because the wife urged me to post it; so what if I missed
the application date to yet another run-of-the-mill job vacancy? As far as I
was concerned it was just another one in a hundred. For a while me joining Xenotron hung by a thread: I had absolutely no idea that
this job was a unique posting, the kind of opportunity that doesn't knock often:
The perfect environment and a world class job.
The creative destruction of capitalism doesn’t give a damn about whether or not one’s working environment is a uniquely satisfying affair with a homely village community feel which many would give their eye-teeth for. If it doesn’t fit into the ever restless and changing ferment of the market kiss that job and the human relationships it entails goodbye and move on. This tendency toward market turbulence and the survivalist need to fight for one's corner takes a toll on human relationships and therefore it’s no surprise that those who seek to overthrow capitalism co-opt social alienation as justification for their cause. But then without the creative destruction of capitalism Tim Coldwell’s and Ian Houghton’s self-motivated entrepreneurial spirit wouldn’t have found the freedom of expression to achieve what they achieved and many of us who joined Xenotron wouldn’t have had such interesting jobs. However, the story of Xenotron reveals some of the social tensions which may arise within the free market system. There is therefore a need for the democratic regulation of society to help head off some of the disaffection and alienation endemic to capitalism, problems which are readily exploited by the extremes of left and right as they seek to overthrow democratic government in favour of their ideologies.
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