3D Microcomputers Wholesale and Distribution, Inc., often referred to as 3D Microcomputers or 3D Micro, was a computer company based in

Markham, Ontario Markham () is a city in the Regional Municipality of York, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately northeast of Downtown Toronto. In the 2021 Census, Markham had a population of 338,503, which ranked it the largest in York Region, fourth largest ...

. The company was among the top five personal computer vendors in Canada in the mid-1990s. The company was partially owned by Hong Kong–based computer manufacturer PC Chips for several years; many of the parts for 3D Micro's computers were of overseas origin.

History

3D Microcomputers Wholesale and Distribution was founded in

in 1985. By 1990, the company had offices across six cities in Canada, including Markham, with plans to open a seventh office that year, although the plans had stalled by 1992. By 1994, the company employed 120 people, 100 residing in Canada. David Wong served as the company's

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. He was simultaneously the vice chairman of PC Chips, a Hong Kong–based motherboard and peripheral manufacturer; PC Chips had partial ownership of 3D Microcomputers. The company's Evertek Manufacturing subsidiary performed the manufacturing of the company's products, which 3D Microcomputers marketed under the IPC trademark. In December 1993, the company won a contract to manufacture and sell

IBM PC clone IBM PC compatible computers are similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT, all from computer giant IBM, that are able to use the same software and expansion cards. Such computers were referred to as PC clones, IBM clones or IBM PC clones. ...

computers for

Commodore International Commodore International (other names include Commodore International Limited) was an American home computer and electronics manufacturer founded by Jack Tramiel. Commodore International (CI), along with its subsidiary Commodore Business Mach ...

's Canadian subsidiary. Commodore left the PC clone market earlier in 1993; Commodore Canada previously contracted 3D Microcomputers in 1991 for the manufacturing of Commodore's line of enterprise computers. Commodore Canada was set to refocus on marketing its

Amiga Amiga is a family of personal computers introduced by Commodore in 1985. The original model is one of a number of mid-1980s computers with 16- or 32-bit processors, 256 KB or more of RAM, mouse-based GUIs, and significantly improved graphi ...

computers and the heretofore recently released

Amiga CD32 The Amiga CD32 (stylized as Amiga CD32, code-named "Spellbound") is a 32-bit home video game console developed by Commodore and released in Europe, Australia, Canada, and Brazil. It was first announced at the Science Museum in London on July 16, ...

home game console for 1994, while 3D Microcomputers would handle development of MS-DOS computers with Commodore badging. 3D Microcomputers turned to Xylog of

Richmond Hill, Ontario Richmond Hill (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 202,022) is a city in south-central Regional Municipality of York, York Region, Ontario, Canada. Part of the Greater Toronto Area, it is the York Region's third most populous municipality and th ...

, to market these PC-based Commodore computers in the public sector, while 3D Micro themselves would handle marketing in the retail and educational sectors, which were formerly handled by Commodore. The initial lineup of 3D Micro–built Commodore PCs comprised three systems each aimed at

multimedia PC The Multimedia PC (MPC) was a recommended configuration for a personal computer (PC) with a CD-ROM drive. The standard was set and named by the "Multimedia PC Marketing Council", which was a working group of the Software Publishers Association (SP ...

SOHO Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develop ...

, and

workstation A workstation is a special computer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by a single user, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term ''workstat ...

buyers. In April 1994, Commodore International went bankrupt and announced that liquidation proceedings were imminent. Despite the company's financial woes in the United States, the Canadian subsidiary had been relatively profitable, and 3D Microcomputers declared that they would continue selling computers under the Commodore brand for the foreseeable future. In June 1994, 3D Microcomputers formed a subsidiary, CBM Computers Inc., to handle the marketing and distribution of its Commodore-branded PCs. On its formation, the subsidiary announced a Commodore-branded

sound card A sound card (also known as an audio card) is an internal expansion card that provides input and output of audio signals to and from a computer under the control of computer programs. The term ''sound card'' is also applied to external audio i ...

and

fax modem A fax modem enables a computer to transmit and receive documents as faxes on a telephone line. A fax modem is like a data modem but is designed to transmit and receive documents to and from a fax machine or another fax modem. Some, but not all, fa ...

. Citing continuing good sales, 3D Microcomputers and its CBM subsidiary kept manufacturing and marketing Commodore-branded computers and peripherals into 1995, making these machines the last Commodore-branded computers authorized while Commodore was still a

going concern A going concern is a business that is assumed will meet its financial obligations when they become due. It functions without the threat of liquidation for the foreseeable future, which is usually regarded as at least the next 12 months or the spec ...

. Germany-based Escom purchased the majority of Commodore's inventory, intellectual property, and trademarks in July 1995. Despite this, 3D Micro announced that they would continue marketing computers under the Commodore name, according to spokesperson Lorne Matheson, " til we're told that we cannot do it". By the end of 1994, the company was one of the top five personal computer vendors in Canada, according to Evans Research Associates. The company expanded to 300 people worldwide in 1995 and posted sales of CA$98.5 million, up from CA$58.8 million in 1994. Sales dropped to CA$47.3 million in 1996; the company's sales held steady at CA$52.5 million between 1997 and 1998. Sales rose to CA$87.5 million in 1999, and the company expanded to 300 employees in Canada and 500 abroad; sales again held steady between 2000 and 2001. 3D Microcomputers filed its last financial statement in 2017.

References

External links

* {{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/19961226161215/http://www.3dmicro.com/, date=December 26, 1996, title=Official website 1985 establishments in Ontario 2017 disestablishments in Ontario Defunct computer companies of Canada Defunct computer hardware companies