tech firm's closure disappoints ex-ceo - interactive whiteboard for sale

NextWindow, local touch screen maker, is closing
In 2010, it was sold to Canada's smart technology company for $82 million.
Former chief executive Al Monro said it was disappointing but predictable.
Monro said he agreed with Selwyn Pellett, a tech entrepreneur, the Calgary-
Smart at headquarters should be $5 more now.
9 million, 3-
New Zealand taxpayers-
NextWindow received a funded research and development grant in 2011. Nasdaq-
Smart is expected to be listed in Auckland-
The company said in its third fiscal year that it would close down before the end of the 2015 fiscal year
Quarterly results yesterday
Smart's chief executive Neil Gaiden told a conference call that NextWindow did not meet earnings expectations and was not part of the Canadian company's core business.
"We are working closely with employees, customers and suppliers to manage our commitments in the wind --
"It's off season," Gayton said. Smart is best-
It is known to have developed interactive whiteboards for schools, but it is understood that it has paid more attention to software in recent years.
Before the acquisition, NextWindow-
Companies that make screens in Asiawas a poster-
Children of New Zealand-
Based on technological innovation and high hopes that its technology will become the leader of emerging markets at that timescreen devices.
At the time of the acquisition, the company hired about 80 employees at the Academy Hill headquarters, but it was reported that by the end of last year this figure had been reduced to about 11.
While the use of touch screen devices such as Apple's iPad has surged, global demand for NextWindow products has reportedly been declining rapidly.
Production of touch screen NextWindow for companies such as HP
HP, Dell and Sony lost $7 in operations.
The 2 million-year profit was $2013, compared with $478,000 in the same period last year.
Revenue fell 40 per cent last year to $22.
2 million, close to $40 million-
At yesterday's exchange rate-
The company released its sales report in 2009.
Munro, who left NextWindow at the end of 2011 after nearly a decade in charge, said it was difficult to hear about the company's imminent collapse.
"This is my child for a long time," he said . ".
"There are a lot of very, very good people there and I think most of them have entered other good positions and I keep in touch with a lot of them but it's a shame.
Monro says he still thinks it's a good move to sell the company to Smart.
"The idea of selling it and being part of a larger balance sheet, having a wider range of products we can get into is always right," he said . ".
"The ability to put a product into a wider range of products --
Smart product range-
Is the right strategy.
Monro said that after the acquisition of NextWindow, the Canadian company's strategy has changed, and the change in strategy has driven his decision to leave the company to a certain extent.
Smart also started listing on the stock exchange a few months after the acquisition of NextWindow, and since then the company has been hit by a steady decline in stock prices.
Smart stocks are valued at about $2.
Yesterday's $30 was below $17 at 2010 of initial public offerings.
Pelette has been outspoken in criticizing research and development grants to foreign countries.
State-owned enterprises say the government should ask Smart to return the grant it received from NextWindow.
"I think they already have the ability to do this if I read some of [correctly]
Minister of Economic Development
"Said Steven Joyce.
Joyce had previously said that in some cases the government could request repayment of the grant, but only within three years of the completion of a round of financing.
Smart did not respond to an email for comment before last night's deadline.
The upcoming closure of the NextWindow is part of a "continuous story" of New Zealand technology companies being sold to overseas buyers and then closed down, Pelette said.
According to data from the technology investment network, over the past 10 years, more than 30 of New Zealand's most innovative companies have been acquired by overseas buyers.
"If you deprive New Zealand entrepreneurs of their passion for starting a business and allow logical, rational decisions to be made elsewhere in the world, New Zealand will not compete," Pellett said . ".
Research and development grants that do not force corporate ownership to stay in New Zealand will result in "continued waste of money", he said ".
Kelly Schmitt, Smart's chief financial officer, said on a conference call that NextWindow's exit would have an impact on parent company revenue of between $30 million and $35 million.