Profit, revenue growth could propel hiring at Austin’s Xplore Technologies

If you’re in the job market, you might want to explore career opportunities at Austin-based Xplore Technologies Corp.

At the moment, Xplore has openings for four full-time positions in Austin: vice president of marketing and sales representative (three). That follows the recent addition of two engineers.

The company is considering further expansion of its workforce over the next 12 months, with additions in marketing and sales being a priority.

“The number of personnel will depend on our growth rate in profit and revenue,” says Mark Holleran (photo), president and chief operating officer of Xplore. “Austin is our headquarters, and the majority of our new hires will be in Austin.”

Xplore, founded in 1996, employs about 30 people in Austin and another 10 or so around the country and in Taiwan. The company develops “rugged” tablet PCs for customers in sectors such as public safety, manufacturing and military.

Holleran says the company seeks employees with experience in the mobile PC space.

“We look for personnel with a proven track record, experience in a smaller company that has grown quickly, the ability to multitask and a customer focus attitude,” Holleran says. “We prefer people who are innovative and have a can-do attitude … and take pride in their work.”

For more information about careers at Xplore, contact Holleran at mholleran@xploretech.com. You may submit your resume to careers@xploretech.com.

To view Holleran’s profile on LinkedIn, click here. To view the company’s LinkedIn profile, click here.

Xplore is a publicly held company whose stock is traded on the over-the-counter bulletin board under the symbol XLRT.

For the first time in company history, Xplore has generated an operating profit—$42,000 in the quarter that ended June 30.

Revenue for the company’s most recent quarter was $5.078 million, up 2 percent from the same quarter a year earlier. The net loss for that period was $667,000, compared with a net loss of $1.321 million during the same time a year earlier.

“We believe the strength of our product portfolio, the market’s increased awareness and acceptance of the tablet-form factor, improving economic conditions and Xplore’s foray into new geographies and vertical markets position the company for a ramp up in revenues,” Holleran says.

For the fiscal year that ended March 31, Xplore posted revenue of $21.94 million, down 3 percent from the previous year. During the quarter that ended June 30, three customers accounted for 37 percent of the company’s revenue, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

During the most recent fiscal year, Xplore notched expenses of nearly $1.59 million due to a decrease in engineering staff associated with fewer development projects. The number of layoffs wasn’t available.

Holleran says Xplore is preparing to introduce a “significantly improved” line of tablet PCs later this year. The successful launch of Apple Inc.’s iPad signals that the tablet PC industry is poised for wider acceptance and accelerated growth, he says.

“With Apple and other commercial PC companies embracing the tablet format, I think the potential demand for a full-size mobile computer, with more interactive capabilities than a keyboard can deliver, will continue to expand in the years to come,” Holleran says. “This bodes well for Xplore, as the number of users that are comfortable with the tablet form factor is set for rapid growth.”

To view a promotional video about Xplore’s rugged tablets, click here.