Being upfront with customers about the vitality of electronic equipment to save them time and money seems to be paying off. At least that’s the case for Network Hardware Resale, a world leader in providing pre-owned and new networking and datacenter solutions.
The privately held Goleta company, which was founded in 1986, posted its largest gains to date last year on the heels of launching its new servers and storage solutions business, which is meant to maximize the lifespan and efficiency of technology investments.
Along with that program, Network Hardware Resale earlier this year began expanding its successful NetSure Maintenance Program for IT customers.
To sum up, the resale company sells equipment at a lower price, helps maximize the life of the often vital equipment, and fixes it for you if it malfunctions.
Growth doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
“We help customers that are on a budget and are interested in saving money, and we help customers with their assets as they age,” CEO Mike Sheldon said. “These products can last a long time. We’re in the business of helping equipment last decades.”
While the company is not exactly the same as the one Sheldon’s father, former IBM-executive Chuck Sheldon, founded years ago, the overall focus is still the same: to sell the best pre-owned networking equipment at faster response times and with lower failure rates than original manufacturers.
The younger Sheldon, who took over as CEO in 2006, said business continues to boom and morph along with technology, especially in Asia.
In 2012, Network Hardware Resale sold more than $25 million in optics equipment and shipped more than 730,000 items, an increase of 35 percent from 2011. Customers saved an average of 75 percent off new and used IT equipment from list prices, and the company served customers in 178 countries.
The maintenance business was a key contributor to 2012 growth, increasing by 76 percent to earn the title as the fastest-growing business segment.
Sheldon said a next step will be expanding into Japan, where sales grew by 35 percent in 2012.
“We’re very much a global business,” he said. “We’re moving quickly around the world to do what we do everywhere we can.”
Even with global reach, Sheldon said the company has no intentions of uprooting from the coastal community where it was founded.
More than 200 locals work at NHR headquarters at 80 Coromar Drive, while another 200 are employed in Europe and Asia-Pacific. Network Hardware Resale also works to hire UC Santa Barbara graduates and donates approximately $200,000 each year to local organizations.
Sheldon said he is grateful for loyal customers and excited for future successes.
“A caution about the economy has really been the major driver of our success,” he said. “The market is very strong. We’re beginning to manufacture our own products. We’re moving away from just a reseller of secondary market products. We’re rapidly becoming a big call center and hardware replacement company as well.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.