Defunct Mac acceleration product maker Newer Technology has posted details about its forthcoming bankruptcy hearing. The details of the hearing may be important for creditors of Newer, which closed its doors in late December.
Newer indicates that a meeting of its creditors, to take place in Wichita, Kansas, has been scheduled for Feb. 5, 2001. Creditors are advised that they have until May 7 to file any claims against the company. Details about the case’s presiding judge, Newer’s attorney, the bankruptcy trustee and other information are included in the information released by Newer.
This event will mark one of the last chapters in a long, sad story. Newer abruptly ceased operations late in Dec., canceling plans to exhibit at Macworld Expo in San Francisco earlier this month and laying off all but a handful of employees. The company sent registered letters to dozens of employees shortly after Christmas advising them of the situation. The company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection earlier this month, two days after a shareholders’ meeting.
Newer had a long history as a Macintosh peripherals maker, dating back to 1984 — the year Apple first debuted the Macintosh. The company first produced memory boards and other peripherals for the Mac, migrating its focus to processor upgrades in the 1990’s. Through the course of its life, Newer developed upgrades for Power Mac, iMac, and PowerBook systems, often beating other processor upgrade makers to the punch. Newer hit hard times in 1999, and secured an equity partnership with Tri-M Technologies Ltd., with whom Newer had an already established working relationship.
Last week Sonnet Technologies announced the hiring of “all key engineering personnel” of Newer, doubling Sonnet’s engineering and development team. In the past few weeks, both Sonnet and fellow Mac accelerator maker Powerlogix have posted sanguine press releases trumpeting their own fiscal health, hoping to allay potential industry concern about the future of the Mac processor upgrade market.