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Other World Computing Timeline
1974
• Larry O’Connor is born.
1981
• Eight-year-old O’Connor catches the entrepreneurial bug working on various direct selling endeavors and reprogramming an accounting application for his father's company.
1988
• At age 14, O’Connor begins a printer ribbon re-inking business in the garage of his family's Marengo, Ill., home. He calls it LRO Enterprises.
1990
• LRO Computer Sales moves into its 1,200-square-foot facility in Woodstock, IL., expands to selling hard drives and hires its first employees.
1993
• LRO computer sales moves into a 2,500-square-foot office space, which over the next eight years expands to about 6,500 square feet.
1994
• O’Connor changes the name to Other World Computing as a division of New Concepts Development Corp.
• OWC reaches first $1 million in sales.
1995
• OWC ships its first OWC-branded acceleration products.
1997
• OWC moves into Judd Street building site in Woodstock, IL. total employees about 7.
1999
• OWC introduces Mercury G3 ZIF upgrade line.
2000
• OWC introduces the Mercury Classic Elite line of external storage solutions.
2001
•OWC purchases the rights to the name “Newer Technology” .
•OWC moves to new location at 1004 Courtaulds Drive, Woodstock; total employees, about 30.
• OWC is the first company to offer an iPod case - "The Pod Protector."
• OWC introduces the OWC Mercury On-The-Go 60 gigabyte (GB), 2.5-inch portable FireWire drive, the largest 2.5-inch portable FireWire storage solution available at that time.
• OWC introduces a high-performance Mercury Elite FireWire/USB 2.0 Combo Storage Solution that operates at 7200 RPMs.
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2003
• OWC introduces the Mercury Elite-AL line of external storage solutions.
• OWC launches FasterMac.net, a Macintosh-only Internet service that provides nationwide 56K dialup access throughout the United States specifically for Macintosh computer users.
• OWC debuts its Mercury Extreme product line with a G4/1.33GHz processor upgrade, the fastest Macintosh processor to date.
• NewerTech and OWC introduce an extra high-capacity NuPower replacement battery compatible with PowerBook G3 FireWire (2000/Pismo) and PowerBook G3 Lombard (1999/Bronze Keyboard) models.
• OWC debuts its OWC Neptune line of external 7200RPM FireWire storage solutions. The drives are available in 60GB to 250GB capacities.
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2004
• OWC receives BizRate Circle of Excellence Gold Honoree Award.
• NewerTech and OWC introduce the NuPower 'MaxCapacity' replacement battery compatible with the PowerBook G3 FireWire (2000/Pismo) and PowerBook G3 Lombard (1999/Bronze Keyboard) models.
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2005
• OWC reaches $35 million sales mark.
• OWC receives BizRate Circle of Excellence Gold Honoree Award.
• OWC begins offering an iPod battery replacement program with a guaranteed 24-hour turnaround for its customers in the continental US.
• OWC introduces the miniStack line of drives. Though designed as the perfect complement to Apple's Mac mini, the drives are compatible with any Mac or PC with an available FireWire or USB port.
• OWC and NewerTech introduce a line of Intelligent Battey Charger/Conditioners that allow customers to have two laptop batteries at optimum condition at all times.
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2006
• Plans for the new LEED building had come to a close and were revealed at the Other World Computing Christmas Party.
• OWC introduces the Mercury Elite-AL RAID series of external storage solutions.
• Total employees now number 78.
• OWC projects $40 million annual sales mark.
• OWC receives BizRate Circle of Excellence Gold Honoree Award.
• OWC introduces the first Dual-HD external FireWire drive RAID available up to 1.5 TB.
• OWC was the first third party company on the market with memory modules and upgrade kits for the Intel(r) based Mac Pro that met Apple(r) specifications.
• OWC reaches the milestone of Over Half a Million OWC brand memory modules being shipped to satisfied customers worldwide.
• OWC became the first manufacturer to introduce a Quad Interface external hard drive combining FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB 2.0, and eSATA connection options in one high-capacity storage solution - the OWC Mercury(tm) Elite-AL Pro Quad Interface.
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2007
• Axiotron and OWC Unveil the ModBook, the One and Only Mac Tablet.
• June 2, OWC broke ground on its new 37,000 square-foot corporate headquarters, designed according to specifications of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. LEED is a nationally accepted voluntary building certification program that defines high-performance green buildings, which are more environmentally responsible, healthier, and conservation-minded structures.
• OWC Introducing the OWC Mercury Rack Pro line of external rackmount storage solutions .
• OWC Premiered the OWC Blu-Ray Internal and External Drive Solution.
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2008
• April 4, 2008: All OWC Departments and Staff now moved to new location. First time in about four years that the entire OWC team is under a single roof.
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2009
• July, 2009 Excavation begins for OWC’s Vestas V 39, 3-Blade, 500kW Wind Turbine . The wind turbine will generate approximately 1,250,000 kWh per year (kilowatt hours per year) -- more than double the amount that the Other World Computing facility needs. The anticipated surplus power will be sold back to local power providers to sell to other customers.
Other:
Other World Computing takes its name from the founding principles to always strive to provide a level of complete customer satisfaction that can’t be found with any other computer related company in the world.
Through the www.macsales.com e-commerce portal, OWC features one of the largest online catalogs of computer and iPod enhancement products.