2 Top Tandberg Officials Quit in Marketing Dispute

Tandberg Data Inc. President Robert Chartrand resigned Thursday, citing differences with the conservative style of Tandberg’s Norwegian parent company. Nick Horn, vice president of sales and marketing, also resigned from the company, which makes backup storage devices for computers.

The resignations come less than a month after Tandberg’s lavish dedication festivities, which included a visit from Norwegian Crown Prince Harald, for its 32,000-square-foot Anaheim manufacturing plant.

Hans Lodrup, chairman of the board of Tandberg Data, said in a statement Thursday that Kjell Froyslid, a vice president of Tandberg Data A/S of Oslo, Norway, has been appointed chief executive officer and interim president. Froyslid will remain chief executive of the Anaheim company after a new president is appointed.

Art Plitt, former director of marketing for Archive Corp. in Costa Mesa, was named vice president of marketing and sales. Plitt said in a telephone interview Thursday that the change of top management will not affect Tandberg’s commitment to serving the American computer storage products market.

“Tandberg is more committed than ever to supplying products to the U.S. marketplace,” Plitt said. “There absolutely is no intent to pull out of this country.”

Plitt said it is very difficult for a European company to do business in America without being here. “My instructions are to go out and secure as much business as we can in the next six months,” he said.

He said that while Tandberg is searching for a new president, a committee composed of vice presidents, including him, will manage the company. Plitt said he foresees no major changes because “the products themselves are excellent.” He said Tandberg, which aims to be No. 2 in streaming tape drive sales behind Archive, is reviewing its product distribution system in order to move products into the marketplace more quickly. The new Tandberg plant is expected to produce 40,000 to 50,000 streaming tape drives a year and generate about $20 million in sales.

Lodrup, in Anaheim earlier this week for a board meeting, said in a statement that Froyslid plans to divide his time between Oslo and Anaheim.

“The rapid appointments, both of which are effective immediately, indicate to the industry and to the data storage market in particular, that Tandberg Data is committed to its U.S. manufacturing plans and product marketing strategies,” Lodrup said.

‘Had Been Brewing’

Chartrand, who joined Tandberg Data 2 1/2 years ago as first vice president and general manager, was appointed president in October, 1984. He said in a telephone interview Thursday that his departure “had been brewing for sometime.”

Chartrand said the “general conservativeness” of the Norwegian parent company was making it difficult to keep pace with the fast-changing personal computer marketplace. He and Tandberg differed, he said, on what long-term marketing direction the company should take.

Chartrand and Horn are preparing some “terrific proposals” to present to other computer storage products companies, Chartrand said.