InfoNetrix - The Market Intelligence Information Network



	Press Capsules (eNews) Literature

For Immediate Release
November 2001

cfar International and KLN Group: New Partners… Old Friends
cfar International Ltd. (New Orleans, La.) and KLN Group (Folsom, Calif.) have announced formation of the InfoNetrix™ Market Intelligence Information Network. The new enterprise features a suite of technology-centric information products and services that will help clientele involved in Energy and Utility markets successfully plan, execute and support marketing strategies through the availability and use of timely and objective market intelligence.

InfoNetrix™ was created as a natural outgrowth of the longstanding personal and professional relationship that began in 1990 between its principals, Mike Marullo (founder and CEO of cfar International) and Mike Smith (founder and CEO of KLN Group). The two initially met as competitors following Marullo’s formation of TECH-MARC, a one-person technical market research and consulting firm. At the time, Smith was working for Clauder Systems Research (CSR) in Sacramento, California, already a well-established market research organization; both firms specialized in energy and utility research and consulting services.

Yet despite initially competitive positions, Smith and Marullo each developed a growing respect for the other’s abilities and accomplishments as they became better acquainted. Their first formal collaboration occurred a few years later, shortly after PennWell Publishing Company of Tulsa, Oklahoma acquired CSR. On that occasion, Marullo served (at Smith’s invitation) as managing editor of the premiere edition of PennWell’s Utility Automation magazine. Smith would later be named publisher of UA before returning to California in 1996 to become marketing manager for a prominent energy and utility engineering firm.

Smith has remained focused on marketing, communications and research throughout his career. His broad market experience and writing talents have resulted in the authorship of dozens of articles in leading industry trade journals and publications. Smith has also carried out numerous proprietary consulting assignments and research projects for leading companies serving energy and utility markets.
Prior to forming KLN Group, Smith held marketing positions with engineering, utility software and technology consulting firms, affording him valuable hands-on industry experience. He has since served as a consultant to several of these former employers as well as a wide range of both large and small companies with energy and utility automation interests.

Marullo incorporated cfar ("centres for automation resources") International in 1996, as TECH-MARC clientele became increasingly global in their locations and interests. The cfar staff was immediately augmented by a network of executive consultants, each with at least 20 years of experience in his/her respective core competencies ranging from power engineering to metering and communications. With a personal engineering and technical background spanning over 30 years, Marullo remains deeply involved in the fast-paced technology dimensions of energy, utility and related automation markets.

Marullo has been a senior member of the Instrumentation, Systems & Automation Society (ISA) since 1978 and a member of the IEEE Power Engineering Society for over fifteen years. Through these and other industry and professional organizations in which he participates – including the American Water Works Association (AWWA); ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Engineers); and the Geospatial Information Technologies Association (GITA) – Marullo manages to stay abreast of a wide range of increasingly interrelated markets and technologies.

Within the past few years, cfar International and KLN Group have gradually established a complementary client base and both are widely known throughout the energy and utility marketplace. Together, Marullo and Smith have over 30 years of combined experience in consulting and market research on both strategic and tactical levels, directly leading to the creation of InfoNetrix™.

Press Contact
Mike Marullo, Principal
504.466.2220
mam@infonetrix.com Press Contact
Mike Smith, Principal
916.984.7430
mfs@infonetrix.com

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