Tech company with 240 staff collapses after 105 years

Cara WatersDecember 7, 2020

Technology company AWA Limited is up for sale after collapsing into administration last week.

AWA Limited services the technology needs of businesses and its website claims “where there is technology infrastructure that needs to be installed and maintained AWA will be there making it all work.”

The tech company started operations in 1909 as a radio manufacturer and radio broadcaster, but in recent years has focused on providing technology services to major businesses and government organisations.

It began as Australasian Wireless Limited, a Telefunken wireless agent, and since then has grown to employ 240 staff with a network of regional agents in over 700 locations around Australia.

It fields 15,000 service calls a month and 40,000 inventory transactions with a blue chip customer base which includes Flight Centre, Dimension Data, HP and NEC.

The business has been placed for sale by Andrew Spring and Roderick Sutherland of Jirsch Sutherland who were appointed as receivers on February 28, 2014.

“We are continuing to seek expressions of interest in respect to the sale of the business/assets of the company,” Spring and Sutherland said in a sale advertisement placed today.

AWA Limited was placed in administration last week with Philip Carter, Daniel Walley and Alan Walker of PPB Advisory appointed as administrators.

Carter told ABC radio that AWA's board had "run out of time" and "run out of options".

"The company was either about to become insolvent or already insolvent, so in this case they have acted at a time when it looked like they were shortly to become insolvent."

Expressions of interest in buying the business are open until March 10, 2014.

Jirsch Sutherland and PPB Advisory were contacted for comment but failed to respond prior to publication.

This article first appeared on SmartCompany.

                             

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