Logical Machine Corporation

Logical Machine Corporation

Company type	Private
Industry	Computer hardware, software
Predecessor	John Peers and Company
Founded	September 1974 (1974-09)
Founder	John Peers
Defunct	1980s
Fate	Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1984; restructured to focus on software
Headquarters	Sunnyvale, California , United States
Area served	United States, 14 countries (by 1978)
Key people	John Peers (founder), Jerry Brandt (COO)
Products	ADAM minicomputer, Tina computer, Logical L-XT, L-NET, Diplomat programming language
Parent	Carat Ltd. (post-1985)

Logical Machine Corporation (LOMAC), initially established as John Peers and Company and later known as Logical Business Machines, Inc., was a computer enterprise operating from the mid-1970s through the 1980s.

History

Founded in September 1974 by John Peers (born 1942), Logical Machine Corporation began as John Peers and Company. The business started out in a 4,500-square-foot office located in Burlingame, California. Prior to this, Peers had sold Allied Business Systems of London to Trafalgar House in 1974. He aimed to establish manufacturing facilities within an agricultural region near Ukiah, California. Despite initial setbacks caused by local resistance, a 30,000-square-foot manufacturing plant was eventually constructed at Burke Hill, just south of Ukiah.

The facility in Ukiah was purpose-built for the large-scale production of the ADAM minicomputer, which operated using a specialized compiler designed for a natural English programming language closely mirroring English syntax. Prototype models were created by May 1974, following specifications finalized in October 1973. The ADAM's central processing unit was integrated into an L-shaped desk alongside its terminal. From April 1975 to February 1976, twenty ADAM units were deployed from a backlog of 3,500 orders placed by 500 customers; these units were produced at the Burlingame site. Priced at US$40,000 each, the system attracted attention—including controversy over an early print advertisement featuring a nude woman at an ADAM terminal, which was withdrawn after objections from the National Organization for Women.

In October 1976, the company rebranded itself as Logical Machine Corporation (LOMAC) and relocated its headquarters to a 26,000-square-foot facility in Sunnyvale, California, preparing for anticipated growth in ADAM orders. Initially occupying half of this building, LOMAC acquired the remaining half in July 1977 to double its manufacturing capacity. The company reported revenue of $5 million for fiscal year 1977. That December, LOMAC expanded by purchasing Byte, Inc., the parent company of The Byte Shop, recognized as the first retail computer chain with 65 stores primarily catering to hobbyists with affordable microcomputer kits—offering a stark contrast to LOMAC’s premium-priced ADAM systems. By July 1978, the price of the ADAM had been reduced to $15,000; LOMAC had shipped its fiftieth unit and extended its market reach into fourteen countries.

During 1978, LOMAC acquired Mass Memory—a Phoenix, Arizona-based firm specializing in optical storage solutions with gigabyte and terabyte capacities—and Centigram, producer of the Mike speech recognition computer. Later that year saw the introduction of Tina, a cost-effective variant of the ADAM. Following financial losses in 1978, Jerry Brandt joined as chief operating officer in August. Brandt streamlined operations by merging Mass Memory and Centigram into LOMAC’s core activities—shutting down their separate plants—transitioned ten Byte Shops into franchise models while opening an additional twenty-five franchised outlets, and ceased direct sales of business computers. By early 1979, LOMAC had returned to profitability; Brandt departed shortly thereafter.

After experiencing declining sales, Peers left LOMAC in 1980 and assumed the role of executive director at the United States Robotics Society. Subsequently, LOMAC adopted the name Logical Business Machines from its European branch. In 1983, it launched the Logical L-XT—a 16-bit IBM PC-compatible system featuring a 10-MB hard disk drive, a 320-KB floppy drive, 192 KB RAM, a real-time clock, bundled software including MS-DOS and productivity applications, and an amber CRT display. The following year introduced L-NET, a local area network system based on the L-XT architecture supporting up to sixty-four computers; it also incorporated Diplomat—a natural programming language evolved from ADAM’s original language.

In June 1983, Logical initiated legal action against Coleco Industries over trademark infringement concerning Coleco's forthcoming Adam microcomputer; confusion among Logical’s ADAM customers prompted this lawsuit. Coleco denied any infringement on grounds that Logical’s trademark rights had lapsed earlier that year. The dispute was resolved out of court with Coleco licensing the Adam name from Logical in exchange for unrestricted trademark rights.

Logical halted development of the L-XT after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 1984 with debts amounting to $4 million. The company emerged from bankruptcy protection in September 1985 following a $2 million capital injection from Carat Ltd., which acquired nearly half ownership—surpassing fifty percent within six months. As part of its restructuring plan, Logical exited hardware manufacturing to concentrate exclusively on software development and value-added reselling of computer systems.