Cerplex Group In

Tustin computer service firm Cerplex Group Inc. said Thursday that it will consolidate its headquarters and two regional facilities into a new office complex in the Irvine Spectrum. Cerplex, a provider of assembly, parts, repair and other services to the high-tech industry, said it will start shifting its crew of 120 employees to its 22,000-square-foot location on Pacifica Drive in March. The move is set to be finished by mid-April.

Tustin computer service firm Cerplex Group Inc. said Thursday that it will consolidate its headquarters and two regional facilities into a new office complex in the Irvine Spectrum. Cerplex, a provider of assembly, parts, repair and other services to the high-tech industry, said it will start shifting its crew of 120 employees to its 22,000-square-foot location on Pacifica Drive in March. The move is set to be finished by mid-April.

The Cerplex Group Inc. in Irvine, which provides computer parts and repair to the high-tech industry, said Monday that it has closed a $13-million revolving credit line to provide additional working capital and financing for domestic growth. The credit facility with Congress Financial Corp. is secured by assets and matures in February 2001.

business development. His responsibilities will include helping the company expand its global operations, increasing sales and profitability and improving customer satisfaction. Pietrowski comes to Data Exchange from Cerplex Group Inc. in Irvine, where he was senior vice president for corporate business development and alliances. Data Exchange provides high-tech computer services to original equipment manufacturers, third-party maintenance organizations and computer resellers.

James T. Schraith, who resigned earlier this month as chief executive of the Cerplex Group in Tustin, has been named senior vice president and general manager of Compaq Computer Corp.'s North American operations. When he left Cerplex, Schraith would say only that he had accepted an executive position with a large high-tech company outside California. Some speculated that he was joining Compaq, but the Houston-based computer giant didn't make an announcement until Thursday.

Truckloads of aged personal computers, printers and mainframe equipment pile up in the parking lot of a scrap yard built on the site of an old Anaheim racquetball club. Silicon Salvage Inc. work crews wielding electric screwdrivers and power saws will soon tear them apart to salvage parts for resale or to be melted down for their gold and silver plating.

Investors risked more than $135 million on young, promising Southern California companies during the second three-month period this year--more than they invested in any other quarter in the last two years. The surge in venture capital also reached a quarterly high nationwide as investors put $2.8 billion mainly into software, telecommunications and industrial companies, according to a survey by the Price Waterhouse L.L.P. accounting firm.

In a scrap yard built on the site of an old racquetball club here, the computers come to die. Truckloads of aged PCs, printers and mainframe equipment pile up in the parking lot of Silicon Salvage Inc., waiting to be torn apart by crews wielding electric screwdrivers and power saws. Disk drives as big as toasters, cooling fans in black cases, green plastic circuit boards, all are piled up for resale or to be melted down for their gold and silver plating.

* Richard Alston has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer of the Cerplex Group Inc. in Tustin. Prior to joining Cerplex, Alston co-founded Compass International Services Corp., an accounts receivable management company, where he served as chief financial officer and executive vice president of corporate development. He has also held several executive-level positions with National Processing Inc.

* Gregory MacDiarmid has been named chief financial officer of Birtcher Enterprises in Laguna Niguel, the parent company of several development, property management and real estate investment/advisory services firms. He joined Birtcher in 1989 as a vice president in the national finance group.