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UW Engineering grads putting up the numbers by any business yardstick From zero to $3 â€" $4 million in sales this year. No matter whose business yardstick you use, those are pretty impressive nu:_nlfig's_. â€" hasant horivmnialhakdaa®: shindt. Trtnsé Anlatondibiniiatme in But then Frank Gerencser and Michae! Trueman are not your ordinary young busiâ€" ness tycoons. The University of Waterioo engineering grads (class of ‘84) have zeomed to success in running their business â€" Archiâ€" tech Microsystems â€" using a lot of oldâ€" fashioned business smarts and hustle. A couple of years ago, after graduating and taking three months off to see Europe, the two Waterloo grads started their computer busiâ€" ness in a townshouse in Mississauga, sharing it with two other people and a dog. Now, two years later, they can barely contain their success. Sales are increasing at a rate of 300 to 400 per cent a year. Their company payroll keeps growing (now eight employees, they expect it will grow to 12 this year). They‘re also planning to hire UW coâ€"op students in the near future. Even the Ontario government was imâ€" pressed. So impressed, in fact, Trueman and Gerencser were recently given the Ontario Skills Development Minister‘s Award for Outstanding Achievement by the Honorable Gregory Sorbara. The two were among 29 awardâ€"winners in the Minister‘s Start Up program for young business people. Ironically, chance played a big part in the Truemanâ€"Gerencser partnership and in their ultimate success. In 1982, still in the UW system design engineering program, they happened to meet on a stairway in an engineering building. They began talking about ways of obtaining more business course credits, which each figured he needed to further a career in business. "I told Mike to look at taking business at Laurier, which I had discovered I could do earlier," said Gerencser. Fullâ€"time students can do that by crossâ€"registering at Wilfrid Laurier University, which has a big business school. ‘In.my own case, I always knew I wanted to own my own business. I took over my family‘s business when I was only 14," he said, explaining that necessity forced the situation. But he loved the experience and, even though he went on to study engineering, Gerencser ;ays he always wanted to follow that career invaluable because they taught the two young engineers that they needed to have more than just technical smarts. ‘"They taught you how to do business presentations, and make Gerencser says the business courses were Is your child safe? Lzach year thousands of children become victims of accidents in and around the home. You can reduce your child‘s risk of injury by ensuring a safe environment. The federal government passed stringent new safety standards for cribs last fall. Make sure you select a crib that meets all safety standards, and keep it in good condition. â€" Remember that children‘s sleepwear and clothing can burn easily and that your chifii should not play near fireplaces, stoves or heaters. Poloâ€"style pyjamas are safer than loose fitting nifihtgowns. Provide close supervision if your child uses a | Pa _ Provide close supervision if your child uses a walker, especially near stoves and electric cords, and ensure that stairways are closed off. _ For more information on how you can tprotect your child, please contact the nearest office of Consumer and Corporate Affairs Canada. Consumer & Corporate "I‘m. more the financial management type, while Frank‘s a born salesman. I think that‘s a big part of the reason for our success," Trueman added. "Every successful business has to have people with complementary skills, or else I think it‘s doomed. You can‘t have two salesmen, because then nobody looks after the books. And if you had only financial managâ€" ers, nobody would be out bringing in busiâ€" The fact they were UW graduates didn‘t hurt, according to Trueman. "This university has a great reputation in computers and engineering, and that opened some doors for business plans and market assessments." Trueman says they complement each When they started their business in the fal} of 1984 they wanted to sell computers to students. But they soon discarded that plan and decided the place to be was in designing and selling their own computer systems for business and personal applications, across a wide market. But he stressed that the reason they have been successful is that they work hard (14â€"16 hour days) and they spare no effort in giving good customer service and support. They have built a reputation and business based on "word of mouth." Gerencser says they only placed one small ad â€" a Globe and Mail classified â€" since starting up. That ad got them one sale, then that person recommended them, another person recommended them to someone else, and so on. We took the concept of being reasonable in price, not the cheapest, but at the same time giving service and support that was unâ€" matched in the industry," Trueman said. _ At the same time, he noted "without really knowing it, we‘ve hit a pighe in th_e: !na_rket.‘.‘ Their computers are PC compatible, built in their own shop, just a small assembly area in the back of the office, on Kimbel Street in Mississauga. (They expect to move to a new location in a few months because they need more space). Their AMS XT Turbo Personal computer can be tailored to any need, using largely Canadian made parts. They buy monitors from a neighboring Mississauga company. ‘"Really, when you get down to it, Canadian parts are better made," said Trueman. But it‘s word of mouth sales and references that have been the underpinning of the company‘s incredible growth. ___ UNIFORM FAIR ANNIVERSARY SALE APRIL 22 to MAY 2 See our selection of Separates & Duty Shoes. _ PV BRpP® Downstairs, Waterioo Town Square â€" 885â€"5592 ALE ENDS SATURDAY, MAY 2 LUXURY VELVETTE SATIN FLAT LATEX Highâ€"hiding interior paint, ideal for living rooms, bedrooms and halls. in hundreds of custom colors. * Comp. Book Price / PRICE 37.95 30% °* OFF ALL SUNWORTHY WALLPAPER BOOK ORDERS WATERLOO TOWN SQUARE CONESTOGA MALL 15% orr : WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 20, 1987 â€" PAGE 11 StClair The Paint and Paper People in Waterioo Largest Selection in Kâ€"W Area FINAL 4 DAYS hq o4 e 189 L) the paint and paper people 886â€"3791 AVAILABLE AT â€" 2 WATERLOO LOCATIONS StClair Canadd LA"ZX SATIN FLAT * 886â€"2789 (Fabric not included)