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 capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 census, it is the second-largest city in South Carolina. The city serves as the county seat of Richland County, and a portion of the ci ...

History

Intertec was founded in Columbia, South Carolina, by William Wells, a former IBM 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. The teletype was an example of an early-day hard-copy terminal and ...

s. In 1979, the company introduced the Superbrain, an

all-in-one All in One or All-in-One may refer to: Computing * All-in-one PC, a desktop computer with the monitor and computer in the same case * All-in-one printer or multifunction printer * ALL-IN-1, an office automation software package from Digital Equipm ...

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 Z80 is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit microprocessor introduced by Zilog as the startup company's first product. The Z80 was conceived by Federico Faggin in late 1974 and developed by him and his 11 employees starting in early 1975. The first wor ...

microprocessor and running CP/M. 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 leaving ...

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 investme ...

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

Personal Computer A personal computer (PC) is a multi-purpose microcomputer whose size, capabilities, and price make it feasible for individual use. Personal computers are intended to be operated directly by an end user, rather than by a computer expert or tech ...

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 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-bit data bus (allow ...

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

DOS DOS is shorthand for the MS-DOS and IBM PC DOS family of operating systems. DOS may also refer to: Computing * Data over signalling (DoS), multiplexing data onto a signalling channel * Denial-of-service attack (DoS), an attack on a communicat ...

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

IBM PC compatible 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 ...

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 16- or 32-bit parallel computer bus introduced by IBM in 1987 which was used on PS/2 and other computers until the mid-1990s. Its name is commonly abbreviated as "MCA", alt ...

, 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 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debtor. ...

and had its assets liquidated.

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