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Castle Access Is No Castle In the Sky

Castle Access Is No Castle In the Sky

Cymer’s Fourth Quarter Numbers Are Down

High Tech

by Brad Graves

Staff Writer

Mike Vignato says people can be pretty blunt in questioning his business sense when he tells them he’s set up a co-location facility.

That’s one of those fortress-like buildings that house Internet servers. It’s the type of place that has individual lockers for the different tenants’ gear, specialized air conditioning, a diesel generator to supply backup power and a fingerprint reader to screen people at the door.

Vignato is president of Castle Access, a homegrown company that began moving customers into its 12,000-square-foot Aero Drive facility in November.

Castle Access’ five founders , Vignato, Mark Barlow, Mark Hopperton, Joseph Alfrey and David Altomare , put up “several million dollars” to build the facility, says Vignato, declining to give an exact number.

Though some may question the timing, Vignato says setting up a data center at the end of 2001 has given him advantages. Computer hardware and ancillary systems like specialized air conditioners came cheap, he says. Also, while big data centers have elected to cater exclusively to “big fish” customers, there are plenty of little fish for the taking, he adds.

The company employs 18 people and tries to offer “Nordstrom-style” service in an industry that does not typically offer helpful service, Vignato says.

Castle Access houses San Diego County companies like Advanced Business Software, AirfareScout.com and Basiclink.com.

Unlike his competitors, Vignato says he has built a moderate-sized facility that is fully funded.

“As soon as it’s cash-positive, we’ll dip in to build another,” he says. Vignato and company have their eyes on four markets: Hawaii, Chicago, Boston and Ireland.

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Cymer Bucks: San Diego-based Cymer, Inc. reported a net loss of $1.9 million, or 6 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $54.8 million in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31. That compares to net income of $20.2 million, or 68 cents per diluted share, on revenues of $102.2 million in the year-ago period.

Cymer makes laser light sources for the machines that fabricate semiconductors.

For the whole of 2001, Cymer posted net income of $8.5 million, or 27 cents per diluted share, on revenue of $269.4 million. That compares to net income of $63.8 million, or $2.07 per diluted share, on revenue of $367.5 million for all of 2000.

The company offered some guidance for the current quarter: Shareholders can look for first quarter total revenue to grow between 4 and 7 percent over the fourth quarter total revenue of $54.8 million. The company will update its guidance the week of March 11.

Cymer trades on the Nasdaq under the symbol CYMI.

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Comings And Goings: San Diego-based HNC Software Inc. announced Feb. 7 that Bruce Hansen has left the president’s job to pursue other interests. CEO John Mutch is also serving in the role of president, the company said in the same announcement.

San Diego-based Overland Data, Inc. announced last week that the British Broadcasting Corp. is using one of its computer storage units for a 300,000-image electronic picture archive. The system went live in December. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. BBC refers to its system as ELVIS (Electronic Visual Image Store).

Buffalo, N.Y., is the 40th market where San Diego-based Leap Wireless International, Inc. has launched its wireless phone service.

Send high-tech news to Graves via e-mail at

bgraves@sdbj.com

or via fax at (858) 571-3628.

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