Storage is Southern's Primary focus

The former boss of Technology's distribution division, Martin Southern, has resurfaced as head of a specialist data storage distributor Primary Distribution.

Southern left Technology last year to head Laserline, a struggling car alarms business.

Laserline's parent company, Storedata Solutions, acquired Telford-based Primary Distribution last October for just over u5 million.

Southern has been appointed group MD of Storedata and plans to make Primary a major force in storage distribution in the UK. 'Storage is a growth market and Primary has built up a loyal customer base by providing top-class service and support. We want to build on that to make Primary the number one storage choice for dealers.'

In the year to 30 November 1995, Primary made a profit of u1.7 million on sales of u6.7 million. Southern expects turnover to be around u10 million in the current year and says the company is still trading at healthy margins.

Former Primary MD Derek Batey recently took over the post of CEO after Steve Sowery was ousted by the board.