Charles A. Haggerty, chairman of the board of directors, president and executive director of Western Digital Corporation, Irvin, California, has made a welcome return to Brno, three years since his last visit. In an exclusive interview for the Fair Daily he answered the following questions.

Why are you coming to Brno again?
Western Digital was one of the very few Information Technology corporations in 1990 to recognise that the Czech Republic would become a strategic market and since then we have striven to provide it with the latest technology in data storage. Our commitment to the market in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia has been well rewarded and in fact this year we are marking the sale of 1 million drives to the two countries since 1990. One of the main reasons for my visit to Brno in October is to pay tribute to the achievements of those people who justified our confidence in establishing one of the first Distribution channels in this country back in 1990 and to say "Thank You" to them and to all in the Czech Republic who have contributed to our mutual success.

What is your opinion of Invex?
When I attended Invex for the first time, three years ago, I was impressed by the scale and organisation of the event. It has been and continues to be a vital influence on efficiency, productivity and competitiveness of all kinds of organisations - not only in the Czech Republic but throughout Eastern Europe.

It is a great international forum that has drawn people from many countries - and plays a valuable role in the eceonomic life of the region.

This unique trade fair at the heart of Europe provides an opportunity and a place where new ideas can be exchanged and powerful partnerships can be forged.

The wider world should not under-estimate the enormous value of this forum which has done so much to help the whole of Eastern Europe in its recent economic transformation and....... has confirmed the Czech Republic as one of the leaders in the computerisation of its industrial and service sectors.

What sort of new developments is Western Digital pioneering in the storage industry?
One of the most interesting is the development of the Data Lifeguard concept for EIDE drives .which protects end-user data by automatically detecting, isolating, and repairing possible problem areas on the hard drive before data loss can occur. Another important development is the introduction of the new Ultra2 SCSI LVD interface in our WD Enterprise SCSI drives. This new interface provides faster data transfer rates for increased system performance.