Two PC firms go under

Two UK companies have gone bust in the past couple of days after being hit by the economic downturn.

The German parent company of Bracknell-based Maxdata filed for insolvency in Essen late last month and the UK division announced yesterday that it is closing as a result.

However, the Benelux division of Maxdata will take over sales and orders; support, which was contracted to a third party, will continue.

Twelve members of staff at Bracknell have been told that they will lose their jobs.

A statement from the company said Dr Winfrid Andres, of Essen, has been appointed preliminary insolvency administrator and has to approve any disposal of the company's assets.

The closure of the UK division is part of a restructuring of the company that has been deemed necessary by Dr Andres.

Also closing is V-Solutions Ltd, the company behind Vadim Computers, which specialised in gaming machines. A statement from director Vadim Chobanu on its site says that it has gone into voluntary liquidation.

He said: "One of the reasons for this sudden action is the credit crunch that unfortunately hit the electronics and PC hardware industry hard."

Chobanu said the company had been planning to expand into Europe and the US with a new case design but the bank had refused finance because it felt the company had a better chance of surviving the downturn by staying small.

"Alas, we did not foresee the possibility of any viable prospects emerging which were to offer a suitable return on investments to the shareholders and fair remuneration for employees, were we to stay small," he said.

The company makes the Blastflow water cooling system, and owns the brand. Ch obanu says this business will not be affected by the liquidation and the product will be sold through another cooling specialist.