Xantic: New Look, New Name...More Service

Part of the curse of corporate consolidation comes in the combining of or complete re-naming of the new entity. The quandary: maintaining critical market awareness of individual brands while adequately communicating the entirety of the new organization's capabilities. Such was the problem facing the new company comprised of Station 12, Telstra Global Satellite and SpecTec.

The Netherlands-based Station 12 has been one of the acquisition leaders on the satellite communication fronts, a role that the newly named company — Xantic — promises to continue. "Future consolidation is coming, as margins are (still) very tight, and there is the need to drive volume very high," said Rune Martini, Xantic's vice president of the Americas and Northern Europe. Previously, Martini was managing director of SpecTec Group's operations in America.

Xantic today offers a portfolio of satcom-based solutions that will now include broadband and IT. While the name may be new to the marine market, the company's experience spans more than 90 years, with its heritage traced back to Scheveningen Radio, a radio telegraphy service that was designed to keep ships' crews in touch with their owners. The company, by its own estimations, owns 25 percent of the world market in delivering mobile satcom services via the Inmarsat platform. In 2000 it boasted revenue of $250 million, supporting 700 employees and 29 offices worldwide. It was scheduled to open its Houston office on July 1, in order to adequately service its quickly expanding business in the oil and gas industries in the Gulf of Mexico region.

It provides global service through land earth stations in Burum, The Netherlands; and Perth, Australia, providing what the company dubs C3AT: Connection, Content, Consultancy, Applications and Transaction services for both maritime and broadband oriented businesses.

"Total Solution Provider" is a description bandied about by many companies today, from manufacturers of heavy equipment to service providers, but the moniker seems particularly appropriate for Xantic given the depth and breadth of its offerings.

Recent strategic moves include a strategic partnership with Innovative Communications Technologies, Inc. (ICTI), which allows Xantic to take advantage of ICTI's Inmarsat Capacity Expander (ICE) technology. ICE, in essence, allows for higher capacity and faster speeds. Xantic also introduced a new messaging system dubbed AmosConnect, a system that integrates ship-shore-ship communications into one platform.