Compaq
Compaq Computer Corporation (sometimes abbreviated to CQ prior to the 2007 rebranding) was an American information technology company founded in 1982 that developed, sold, and supported computers and related products and services. Compaq produced some of the first IBM PC compatible computers, being the second company after Columbia Data Products[3] to legally reverse engineer the BIOS of the IBM Personal Computer.[4][5] It rose to become the largest supplier of PC systems during the 1990s before being overtaken by Dell in 2001.[6] Struggling to keep up in the price wars against Dell, as well as with a risky acquisition of DEC,[7] Compaq was acquired for US$25 billion by HP in 2002.[8][9] The Compaq brand remained in use by HP for lower-end systems until 2013 when it was discontinued.[10] Since 2013, the brand is currently licensed to third parties for use on electronics in Brazil and India.
Compaq
Computer
February 16, 1982
2002 (as a separate company)
2013 (as a brand of HP; still active outside of the US)
Acquired by Hewlett-Packard, brand name retired by HP in 2013
- United States
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Brazil
- Argentina
- India
The company was formed by Rod Canion, Jim Harris, and Bill Murto, all of whom were former Texas Instruments senior managers. Murto (SVP of sales) departed Compaq in 1987, while Canion (president and CEO) and Harris (SVP of engineering) left under a shakeup in 1991, which saw Eckhard Pfeiffer appointed president and CEO. Pfeiffer served through the 1990s. Ben Rosen provided the venture capital financing for the fledgling company and served as chairman of the board for 17 years from 1983 until September 28, 2000, when he retired and was succeeded by Michael Capellas, who served as the last chairman and CEO until its merger with HP.[11][12]
Prior to its merger, the company was headquartered in northwest unincorporated Harris County, Texas, which now continues as HP's largest United States facility.
Headquarters[edit]
The Compaq World Headquarters (now HP United States) campus consisted of 80 acres (320,000 m2) of land which contained 15 office buildings, 7 manufacturing buildings, a product conference center, an employee cafeteria, mechanical laboratories, warehouses, and chemical handling facilities.[138][139]
Instead of headquartering the company in a downtown Houston skyscraper, then-CEO Rod Canion chose a West Coast-style campus surrounded by forests, where every employee had similar offices and no-one (not even the CEO) had a reserved parking spot.[13][17] As it grew, Compaq became so important to Houston that it negotiated the expansion of Highway 249 in the late 1980s, and many other technology companies appeared in what became known as the "249 Corridor".[140]
After Canion's ouster, senior vice-president of human resources, Hans W. Gutsch, oversaw the company's facilities and security. Gutsch had an extensive security system and guard station installed on the eight floor of CCA-1, where the company's senior vice presidents had their offices. Eckhard Pfeiffer, president and CEO, introduced a whole series of executive perks to a company that had always had an egalitarian culture; for instance, he oversaw the construction of an executive parking garage, previously parking places had never been reserved.[69][141]
On August 31, 1998, the Compaq Commons was opened in the headquarters campus, which featured a conference center, an employee convenience store, a wellness center, and an employee cafeteria.[142]
In 2009, HP sold part of Compaq's former headquarters to the Lone Star College System.[126] Hewlett Packard Buildings #7 & #8, two eight-story reinforced concrete buildings totaling 450,000 square feet, plus a 1,200-car parking garage and a central chiller plant, were all deemed by the college to be too robust and costly to maintain, and so they were demolished by implosion on September 18, 2011.[143][144][145][146]
As of January 2013, the site is one of HP's largest campuses, with 7,000 employees in all six of HP's divisions. The campus was inherited by Hewlett Packard Enterprise, one of the successor companies when HP split into two.[140]
In 2018, Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced the sale of the entire former Compaq HQ campus to Mexican beverage distributor Mexcor.[147]
Competitors[edit]
Compaq originally competed directly against IBM, manufacturing computer systems equivalent with the IBM PC, as well as Apple Computer. In the 1990s, as IBM's own PC division declined, Compaq faced other IBM PC Compatible manufacturers like Dell, Packard Bell, AST Research, and Gateway 2000.
By the mid-1990s, Compaq's price war had enabled it to overtake IBM and Apple, while other IBM PC Compatible manufacturers such as Packard Bell and AST were driven out from the market.
Dell overtook Compaq and became the number-one supplier of PCs in 2001.
At the time of their 2002 merger, Compaq and HP were the second and third largest PC manufacturers, so their combination made them number one. However, the combined HP-Compaq struggled and fell to second place behind Dell from 2003 to 2006. Due to Dell's struggles in late 2006, HP has led all PC vendors from 2007 to 2012.
During its existence as a division of HP, Compaq primarily competed against other budget-oriented personal computer series from manufacturers including Acer, Lenovo, and Toshiba. Most of Compaq's competitors except Dell were later acquired by bigger rivals like Acer (Gateway 2000 and Packard Bell) and Lenovo absorbing IBM's PC division. From 2013 onwards, Lenovo has been the world leader for PCs.
Sponsorship[edit]
Before its merger with HP, Compaq sponsored the Williams Formula One team when it was still powered by BMW engines. HP inherited and continued the sponsorship deal for a few years. Compaq sponsored Queens Park Rangers F.C. for the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons.