Computer producers look forward to brighter 2003 after bad 2002

The biggest computer producers had difficulties meeting 2002 sales forecasts. The leading position on the ranking list is still held by HP-Compaq. Optimus is lagging behind, which according to the management was due to restructuring and redundancies. All in all, the top five producers sold 312,000 computers, servers and notebooks. The first half of the year was devastating, the second half better, was how the biggest suppliers of computer equipment evaluated 2002. The sector was plagued by recession, but is counting on improvement in 2003. "We acutely felt a lack of tenders and orders," said Piotr Podlaski, deputy president of JTT Computer. "In 2002 around 850,000 computers were put on the market, while in 2003 the public will probably buy 980,000," said Podlaski. (Puls Biznesu, p. 11) A.C.