Aquarius System International – ASI – Germany’s leading PC manufacturer of the 1990s

In the 1990s, under the leadership of Winfried Hoffmann (77) and his partner Rolf Wiehe (75), one of Germany’s most important computer assembly companies of its time was established.

The two enterprising managers, drawing on experience from their time at Commodore, founded Aquarius System International (ASI) in October 1989 with the aim of becoming Europe’s largest manufacturer of personal computers. Winfried Hoffmann held Commodore’s top position for the European market from 1984 to 1989 and was directly responsible for sales and marketing. In 1990 he co-founded ASI and a new era of PCs began. In just three years the company grew at a remarkable pace, achieved enormous success and began competing in Germany with established brands.

Thanks to their diligence and cooperation with the Taiwanese brothers Paul and Tony Liu, a relationship established during their time at Commodore, they began assembling personal computers in 1990 despite the sceptics and economic calculations. Production took place in a rented hall belonging to the declining Robotron giant in Sömmerda near Erfurt. In particular, thanks to a far-sighted system of continuously ordering components and a partnership with Intel, to whom they were no longer “just anybody”, they managed, unlike their competitors, to avoid losing money on sudden drops in the prices of electronic components. At the time, overnight price cuts of 10, 20 or 30 percent combined with the long sea voyage of components caused financial problems for many companies in the industry.

Major companies began taking ASI very seriously. Production was expanded to three assembly lines. In 1992 the company supplied 210,000 personal computers to the market, almost three times as many as in 1991. The share of computers sold under the company’s own Aquarius brand continued to decline in favour of more profitable external contracts. Thanks to its exceptional flexibility, the company was able to fulfil even small orders of only a few hundred units, offering customised technology and individual designs.

ASI therefore manufactured computers not only for the retail chains Hertie (Bestar brand), Otto (Uher) and Quelle, but also for Vobis, the German market leader in the sector. Even Commodore had its equipment assembled in Sömmerda, Germany. A new production hall was built on the site of a former brickworks, providing employment for approximately 500 people. From 1994, annual production of 600,000 devices was expected at ASI’s new factory, and the company became Germany’s number-one manufacturer.

In 1995, the successful company was sold to Fujitsu / ICL.

Biographical portrait of Winfried Hoffmann

I would be grateful for any photographs of computers the company produced under its own ASI brand.