Torque Systems is the largest national systems integrator for the graphic arts industry and with the acquisition of Digital Art Exchange (DAX), the company continues to expand. While terms of the acquisition were not disclosed in the release, it was most likely a very attractive deal considering the situation. DAX's investors had informed the company that they would shut off funding by the end of May and instructed management to locate a buyer.

Digital Art Exchange was founded in 1995 and claimed to improve productivity and profitability for companies involved in graphic communications by delivering digital workflow solutions through open standard network technologies and applications. Their customers include prepress houses, printers, publishers, ad agencies and in-house production departments.

Sam Bogoch, Torque's CEO knows exactly what to do. As mentioned in the release, he knew the DAX technology and customer base would be a perfect fit for his company.

In an interview, Bogoch answers key questions about Torque's future.

Sam, First question - How much did you pay for DAX?

Sorry, no can do on this one. As stated in the release, we have decided not to disclose the terms.

How long did it take to close the deal?

Partnering discussions began in earnest at Seybold Boston, and negotiations of a complete buyout took place in the last 3 weeks.

DAX had a mix of small, medium and large customers using their services. Many are probably skeptical because of the recent financial instability of a company like DAX. Overall, what has the response been to Torque taking over?

The response has been extremely positive. We are finding that some of the clients were aware of our company and its focus on service and technology for this industry; for others, we are a pleasant surprise. But probably the biggest perceived "win" the customers have told us about is our stability - I guess if you're going to trust your infrastructure to a vendor at a time like this, it helps if that vendor has a long track record - 12 years in our case -with a strong focus on the bottom line rather than all-out growth. This focus seems to directly address the uncertainty about DAX's future that preceded our arrival.

We understand most employees had been let go prior to the purchase. Will you contact key employees and have them work for you?

We have already contacted a number of employees and contractors who had already been let go, and are hoping to rebuild the team cautiously over time. Our number one focus is on the quality of delivered services, and our ability to respond to the needs of DAX customers as they arise.

What was the most attractive part of their business?

I would say the customers themselves - they seem to be forward-thinking, knowledgeable graphic arts shops who are looking for solutions to their data transmission problems without resorting to expensive proprietary shortcuts.

Now that you have digested DAX's financial statements, what's wrong with companies in the file transfer business? How can you add value and turn this into a profitable concern?

We were surprised to find that DAX already had a modestly profitable business, buried in an overstaffed sales and marketing organization. Our goal, with the right-sized team we are bringing forward, is to stabilize the business and focus on execution. As we build a sustainable model, we are then poised to pick up new customers as our competitors fold. This is happening now with ex-Vio customers, and we expect the same thing as Wam!Net continues to fall away from its customer base in this industry.

From examining their client list, what will Torque offer in terms of additional products and services to DAX clients?

Torque has always focused on local area networking, storage and asset management, and these are logical extensions of the wide area network business that DAX was doing. We look forward to talking to the DAX customers about the benefits of our servers, though Torque's sales approach is extremely low-key. We would rather prove what we can do on the current offerings, and earn customer interest in our other products later on.

Probably the biggest thing we offer right now is our network of tech support people around the country, coordinated through our unique LiveResponse 24/7 program. It puts customers directly in touch with our techies via phone dispatchers, rather than waiting for a page and callback minutes or hours later. It's really suited to the "crunch time" needs of this business, and we don't charge anything extra for it. So in a way, our first offering here is on the house.

On another subject, Torque recently introduced BrightVu which is a very inexpensive solution for companies looking to manage their digital assets. How many customers have signed up?

BrightVu, the new asset manager we introduced at Seybold, is being very enthusiastically received. We've got about a dozen installs underway right now, and some early sites that are already up and running happily. Treating asset management like an appliance, rather than an expensive semi-custom R&D project, is clearly what this industry needs. BrightVu and its big brother MediaBeacon are designed to give graphics shops a really simple way to communicate with their customers and suppliers over the Web. So obviously it's a natural tie-in with the DAX business - if you get a BrightVu, you'll want a well-supported T1 setup, and vice versa.

Thanks Sam, we wish you the best with your business.