With little fanfare, telecom equipment maker Tekelec has been pulling out of L.A., bit by bit.

Headquartered in Calabasas until a few months ago, the switch-maker had started moving to Morrisville, N.C. about a year ago. First to go were the manufacturing operations, followed by accounting and finance. Company executives moved over the summer.

There are now 600 employees in Morrisville, N.C. and about 40 left in Calabasas. The company expects to complete the move by year-end. Tekelec has 1,500 employees nationwide.

The company changed its letterhead in August to reflect the new Dixieland address. At its height, the Calabasas office had 145 employees.

“It made financial sense,” said spokeswoman Joni King Brooks, in explaining the move. The company had two business units in Morrisville and lots of space. “It’s got to be more economical to be North Carolina, compared with Southern California,” she said.

As a telecom switch-maker in an age of skyrocketing voice over Internet protocol installations, Tekelec has led its market for three of the past four quarters, according to market research firm Dittberner Associates, with a 32 percent market share for the second quarter ended June 30.

The company reported second-quarter net income of $5.6 million, compared with a loss of $304,000 for the like period a year earlier. Revenue was $133 million, up from $95.6 million.

EBay in L.A.


Encino-based Auction Boulevard got plenty of exposure this summer in the hit comedy “The 40 Year-Old Virgin” as one of those eBay drop-off and storage businesses.

Now it’s part of Las Vegas-based Net2Auction Inc., which has acquired the Encino-based chain as a way of getting into the L.A. market.

Net2Auction takes care of the listing, photos, description and all the maintenance of selling items on eBay for a fee. The company charges a 35 percent commission for items up to $500, and 30 percent for items that sell for more than $500.

“We sell on behalf of customers who want to sell on eBay but can’t because they’re either technologically challenged or too busy,” said David Levitt, director of operations and business development.

The company has four L.A. locations through its purchase of Auction Boulevard, and plans to open 11 more in the next month and a half. As for the movie, Levitt said, “It’s done a lot for the business,” although he said the deal had been arranged before the film was released. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

Neven’s Vision


Santa Monica-based Neven Vision Inc. has rolled out its first consumer-oriented vision recognition technology, called i-Scout.

Up until now, Neven’s technology has been mostly used in law enforcement and security. Its facial recognition software, for example, enables users to snap a photo and compare against a database to identify suspects on watch-lists.

I-Scout is aimed at consumer-oriented applications. It lets users snap a photo with their cell phone, send it via e-mail to the company’s database, and receive promotions or information about a product if the image is recognized.

Initially, the service will be limited to movie billboards, storefront logos and packaging. The incentive for snapping and sending pictures would be coupons, ring tones or other special offers.

I-Scout’s first marketing partnership will be in Europe and announced next week. There are no deals yet in the United States.

*Staff reporter Hilary Potkewitz can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 226, or by e-mail at

[email protected]

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