Intertec Data Systems Corporation, later Wells American Corporation, was an American computer company active from 1973 to 1991 and based in

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

History

Intertec was founded in Columbia, South Carolina, by William Wells, a former

IBM International Business Machines Corporation (using the trademark IBM), nicknamed Big Blue, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Armonk, New York, and present in over 175 countries. It is ...

researcher, to manufacture and market low-cost

video terminal A computer terminal is an electronic or electromechanical hardware device that can be used for entering data into, and transcribing data from, a computer or a computing system. Most early computers only had a front panel to input or display b ...

s. In 1979, the company introduced the Superbrain, an all-in-one

microcomputer A microcomputer is a small, relatively inexpensive computer having a central processing unit (CPU) made out of a microprocessor. The computer also includes memory and input/output (I/O) circuitry together mounted on a printed circuit board (P ...

based on the

Zilog Z80 The Zilog Z80 is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit microprocessor designed by Zilog that played an important role in the evolution of early personal computing. Launched in 1976, it was designed to be Backward compatibility, software-compatible with the ...

microprocessor and running

CP/M CP/M, originally standing for Control Program/Monitor and later Control Program for Microcomputers, is a mass-market operating system created in 1974 for Intel 8080/Intel 8085, 85-based microcomputers by Gary Kildall of Digital Research, Dig ...

. In 1980, Intertec introduced the CompuStar, a

multiuser Multi-user software is computer software that allows access by multiple users of a computer. Time-sharing systems are multi-user systems. Most batch processing systems for mainframe computers may also be considered "multi-user", to avoid leavin ...

microcomputer housed in a more standard

desktop A desktop traditionally refers to: * The surface of a desk (often to distinguish office appliances that fit on a desk, such as photocopiers and printers, from larger equipment covering its own area on the floor) Desktop may refer to various compu ...

form factor. Both computers sold steadily well in the first two years, with the company earning $3.7 million on $17.2 million in sales by 1981. That year, the company filed its

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

. However, the company found itself unable to compete with IBM's

Personal Computer A personal computer, commonly referred to as PC or computer, is a computer designed for individual use. It is typically used for tasks such as Word processor, word processing, web browser, internet browsing, email, multimedia playback, and PC ...

introduced in 1981, a system which saw quick widespread adoption. In December 1983, they staged a comeback with the HeadStart, a semi-portable all-in-one featuring both the

Intel 8086 The 8086 (also called iAPX 86) is a 16-bit computing, 16-bit microprocessor chip designed by Intel between early 1976 and June 8, 1978, when it was released. The Intel 8088, released July 1, 1979, is a slightly modified chip with an external 8-b ...

of the IBM PC, allowing it to run "most" programs for the PC's

DOS DOS (, ) is a family of disk-based operating systems for IBM PC compatible computers. The DOS family primarily consists of IBM PC DOS and a rebranded version, Microsoft's MS-DOS, both of which were introduced in 1981. Later compatible syste ...

, and a Z80 microprocessor capable of running CP/M. The computer was not as

IBM PC compatible An IBM PC compatible is any personal computer that is hardware- and software-compatible with the IBM Personal Computer (IBM PC) and its subsequent models. Like the original IBM PC, an IBM PC–compatible computer uses an x86-based central p ...

as was advertised, however, and the product flopped. Massive layoffs within the company ensued, with the company only employing 12 by June 1985, down from a peak of 600 employees in 1983. In 1986, William Wells' younger brother Ron Wells took over the company and renamed it to Wells American. It pivoted to the production of true IBM PC compatibles, marketing the A-Star as one such example that year. In 1988, Wells American introduced a new CompuStar that could take expansion cards of both the IBM PC and IBM's new Personal System/2 (PS/2). The expansion bus of the IBM PC was a mostly open standard known as the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA), while the PS/2's bus was based on IBM's

Micro Channel architecture Micro Channel architecture, or the Micro Channel bus, is a proprietary hardware, proprietary 16-bit computing, 16- or 32-bit computing, 32-bit parallel communication, parallel computer bus (computing), bus publicly introduced by IBM in 1987 w ...

, a more locked-down, heavily patented architecture devised by IBM as an attempt to regain market share lost through the proliferation and commodification of IBM PC clones. The new CompuStar possessed both ISA and Micro Channel expansion slots. The new CompuStar was not enough to reverse the company's fortunes, and in 1990 the company suspended all manufacturing activities and marketing in the United States. In 1991, the company filed for

Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''re ...

and had its assets

liquidated Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as wound-up or dissolved, although di ...

References

{{reflist, colwidth=30em 1973 establishments in South Carolina 1991 disestablishments in South Carolina American companies established in 1973 American companies disestablished in 1991 Computer companies established in 1973 Computer companies disestablished in 1991 Defunct computer companies of the United States Defunct computer hardware companies Defunct computer systems companies