Rodime
{{Short description|Scottish company}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{No footnotes|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Rodime PLC
| logo = Rodime wordmark.svg
| industry = Electronics
| hq_location_city = Glenrothes, Scotland
| hq_location_country = United Kingdom
| founded = {{Start date and age|1979}}
| defunct = {{end date|2000}}
| successor = Sportech PLC
| fate = Reverse takeover of Littlewoods
}}
Rodime was an electronics company specialising in hard disks, based in Glenrothes, Scotland. It was founded in 1979 by several Scottish and American former employees of Burroughs Corporation and listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1986, becoming Rodime PLC.
Rodime produced a wide range of hard disks, initially 5¼-inch form-factor ST506-compatible devices, but later launching the world's first 3½-inch hard disk, as well as producing SCSI and ATA drives. Of particular note, Rodime produced the hard disks used in Apple Computer's first external hard drive for the Macintosh, the Macintosh Hard Disk 20, which connected to the external floppy disk drive port found on Macintosh computers from that period.
Due to increasing competition and delays in developing new products, Rodime became unprofitable after 1985, and a financial restructuring package was put in place in 1989. However, in 1991, Rodime ceased manufacturing and was reduced to a holding company which continued to pursue patent litigation against other hard disk manufacturers such as Quantum and Seagate.
Some ex-Rodime engineering staff went on to form Calluna Technology, which specialised in 1.8 inch PC Card form-factor hard disks.
In 2000, Rodime PLC performed a reverse takeover of the Littlewoods gaming business, thus changing its principal business to gaming and betting. Soon after, it changed its name to Sportech PLC.
References
- {{Cite journal |last=Coopey |first=Richard |year=1995 |title=Venture Capital and the Computer Industry: Financing Growth Companies in the UK |url=http://www.h-net.org/~business/bhcweb/publications/BEHprint/v024n1/p0266-p0276.pdf |journal=Business and Economic History |volume=24 |issue=1 |accessdate=2008-04-09}}
- {{Cite book |last=Mackintosh Consultants |url=http://www.mackintoshconsultants.co.uk/docs/dtidir2.pdf |title=Information Storage in the UK: a guide to research, manufacture and services |publisher=Department of Trade and Industry |year=2000 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211125740/http://www.mackintoshconsultants.co.uk/docs/dtidir2.pdf |archive-date=2012-02-11 |url-status=dead |accessdate=2008-04-09}}
- {{Cite web |date=1998-08-17 |title=Living By Litigation, Tiny Rodime Takes On Seagate |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0CGN/is_/ai_21028971 |website=Computergram International |accessdate=2008-04-09}}
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{{Hard disk drive manufacturers}}
Category:Computer storage companies
Category:Defunct computer hardware companies
Category:Defunct computer companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Defunct technology companies of the United Kingdom
Category:Computer companies established in 1979
Category:British companies established in 1979
Category:1979 establishments in Scotland
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