Linux Networx Announces Record Orders and Growth in 2005

SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Linux Networx, The Linux Supercomputing Company, today announced record orders and growth in 2005. The company achieved three consecutive quarters of record growth in orders in Q2, Q3 and Q4 and finished the year with a bookings backlog that increased 300% over 2004. During 2005, one of every three Linux Networx supercomputing systems was sold to a new customer, expanding the company's customer base to over 165 leading supercomputing customers. New customers during 2005 included Audi, BMW, Caterpillar, DaimlerChrysler, EADS Eurocopter, Glaxo SmithKline, Harley-Davidson, Magna Intier and Magna Seating, Motorola, and Thomson Industries.

The company also announced that six supercomputing industry veterans have joined as executives to lead the global services, government relations, operations, product management, research and development and marketing departments. These executives bring decades of experience leading supercomputing and systems companies through rapid growth and will further strengthen Linux Networx as the dominant Linux supercomputing company.

"Linux Networx is poised to be the next great supercomputing company," said Robert (Bo) H. Ewald, Chairman and CEO. "We're coming off a year of records -- record growth, record orders and the largest order in the company's history last quarter. Our new line of LS Series Supersystems has been well-received by our customers and prospects, and now we have an even more experienced executive management team in place to guide the company to new levels of sustained growth and profitability."

Industry veterans joining Linux Networx include David M. Morton as vice president of research and development. Mr. Morton, a 17-year veteran of the supercomputing industry will be responsible for leading the Linux Networx hardware, software and system validation engineering teams. Mr. Morton joins Linux Networx from the Maui High Performance Computing Center where he served as technical director responsible for the definition and oversight of technical aspects for this Department of Defense supercomputing center. Mr. Morton previously held senior executive positions with SGI and Cray Research.

Ben Passarelli has been promoted to vice president of product management, where he will be responsible for product strategy surrounding Linux Networx LS Series Supersystems, storage, visualization and its Advanced Technology Clusters. Prior to joining Linux Networx Mr. Passarelli spent more than 13 years at SGI where he was involved in launching the Challenge, Origin and Altix systems and started the company's storage business.

David "Sunny" Sundstrom joins as vice president of global services. Sundstrom will be responsible for delivering comprehensive support and professional services for customers using Linux Networx systems and software. Mr. Sundstrom brings over 20 years experience in high performance computing and information technology. Prior to joining Linux Networx he served as COO of PC-Doctor, Inc., and previously held various executive positions at Sun Microsystems and Cray Research.

Also joining Linux Networx is Daniel P. Walsh as vice president of operations. Walsh will be responsible for internal operations including manufacturing, quality and information technology. Prior to joining Linux Networx, Mr. Walsh served as vice president of solutions management for Advanced Data Exchange; Mr. Walsh was also vice president of operations and professional services at E-Stamp and held management positions at Visa International and Kraft Foods.

Rebel Brown joins the company as vice president of marketing, bringing to the role over 25 years experience in technology strategy, product marketing and sales. Prior to joining Linux Networx, Ms. Brown served as founder and president of Cognoscenti, a Silicon Valley based strategic marketing firm, for 15 years. Her unique ability to articulate innovative market strategies and implement them with practical business tactics achieved bottom-line success for over 40 clients, driving significant revenue growth and expanded market presence. Ms. Brown gained key Open Systems technology expertise at UNIX Systems Laboratory, where she was responsible for marketing the UNIX operating system, TUXEDO OLTP, C++, TCP/IP and other open systems technologies into the technical and enterprise marketplace.

Rounding out the group is L. Bruce White who joins as the company's vice president of planning and government programs. A 24-year veteran in the technology industry, White will assist with strategic and operational planning and work with government agencies and customers on the definition, design and implementation of new technologies. Mr. White began his career with seven years at Los Alamos National Laboratory before joining Cray Research where he served for 16 years in various leadership positions in service software, development and program management for classified government projects. Mr. White also founded Blanco Consulting where he managed projects for SGI and Khoral Research, Inc (KRI) and later became KRI's interim chairman and president. About Linux Networx

Linux Networx, The Linux Supercomputing Company, delivers Linux Supersystems that combine the price/performance advantage of Linux clusters with real-world supercomputing expertise and technology innovation. The company has delivered over 450 supercomputing clusters to more than 165 supercomputing customers around the world. In 2005 the company achieved record orders, finishing the year with three consecutive quarters of record growth. The company's customer list represents a "who's who" of supercomputing users, including Los Alamos National Laboratories, Sandia National Laboratories, Boeing, BMW, Daimler Chrysler, Audi, Caterpillar, John Deere, Total, Schlumberger and Shell Oil in the Oil and Gas industry. For more information about Linux Networx, visit http://www.linuxnetworx.com.