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Sue Green

A SMALL country town 230 kilometres north of Melbourne is the unlikely site on which troubled computer giant IBM's Australian arm is pinning its hopes.

  IBM Australia's personal computer factory at Wan-garatta has not only so far escaped the huge job losses felt throughout IBM worldwide, its output and its exports are at record high levels.

  IBM spokesman Ros Gordon said yesterday its exports totalled A$175 million (HK$934.5 million) last year and were expected to top $210 million this year.

  Strong local orders for PCs fetched $60 million last year.

  The plant, set up in 1976 as a typewriter factory, employs 160 full-time staff and 300 to 400 casuals, according to demand. It is now running three shifts a day and, in June, produced 20,000 PCs, compared to 37,000 for all of last year.

  While IBM Australia's staff was cut to 2,700 from 4,100 early last year, its voluntary redundancy package was not offered at the Wangaratta plant. Further cuts are not ruled out.

  The plant's main products are the PS/1, PS/2 and ValuePoint personal computers and the RISC System/6000 computer. About 70 per cent of these are exported to Japan, New Zealand, Pacific island nations and East Asia, including Hong Kong and Singapore, its biggest PC markets.

  Details of exports to individual countries are not available, but Ms Gordon said: ''There is a huge demand for the products in the region. At this stage, the IBM reviews have seen the plant as very important, it is the supplier of these products for the region.''   The Wangaratta plant is one of four IBM PC plants in the world, and one of three producing the RS/6000.

  In early July, Doug Elix, who has worked with IBM financial services in the United States and Asia, took over as IBM Australia's managing director.

   He replaced Brian Finn, who held the post for 13 years and will remain chief executive until the end of the year when he will retire, and hand over that title to Mr Elix.

  In 1991, IBM Australia lost $389 million and $67 million last year.

  At his first press conference, Mr Elix said the company had returned to profit after two years.

     PC sales had doubled, PS/1 sales tripled and services and maintenance were up 20 per cent, he said.

  IBM said later its profit was in the tens of millions of dollars for the first half, but did not give an exact figure.

   Its credit arm, IBM Australia Credit, made a $10 million profit.

   Mr Elix refused to say whether the company would make a full-year profit. ''Times are still very difficult,'' he said.

  Despite the profit, ratings agency Standard and Poor's downgraded IBM Australia's ratings because of the parent's losses.

  It warned of further downgradings, and that the company could lose its A rating in Australia if the parent could not ''generate a reasonable level of profitability''.

  Mr Elix said he planned to head a ''fiercely competitive company''.

  The Wangaratta plant has been contracting out its facilities to help make a profit.

   Ms Gordon said the plant had won six contracts.



Boom town IBM's hope Down Under