Hispanic Enterprise - December 2007/January 2008 - (Page 34) COVER STORY Abba Technologies’ rapid rise has not gone unnoticed or unrewarded, the storm. We should be on a Discovery Channel program called Survivor Companies. ” Baca comes from a long line of survivors—and successes. His family was among the original settlers of the Southwest and still lives on land grants from the Spanish Crown dating back to the 1600s. The Baca family is entrepreneurial to its roots. Baca’s grandfather, M.C., started Belen Auto Sales in Belen, New Mexico in 1939. His father, brother, and sister still run the family business today. Pilar Sachs, Andrew’s maternal grandfather, owned an appliance business in Belen from 1946 to 1984. Even his cousins, Bobby and Danny Sachs, are entrepreneurs. They co-own Team Specialty Products in Albuquerque. Baca’s foray into the business world seems predestined. “When I went to college I got interested in computer systems and went to work for IBM. But I always had the drive to own my own business,” Baca explains. “At IBM, 34 * ANDREW BACA IS FOCUSING ON TURNING ABBA TECHNOLOGIES INTO THE PREMIER IT FIRM IN THE SOUTHWEST. I always went after the skill sets and the training rather than the money to position myself to own my own business.” Baca didn’t leave IBM to start a business, however. He left IBM’s Denver offices to start a family in New Mexico. The business opportunity arose in its own time. Over the past six years, Baca’s leadership has led the company to success after success. The company has won government awards and business recognition. In 2003, Flying 40 named Abba Technologies one of the fastest growing technology companies in New Mexico. The growth didn’t slow, and Abba repeated the feat in 2004 and 2005. New Mexico Business Weekly ranked Abba Technologies number one in gross revenue among computer networking firms in 2006, as well as one of the best places to work. The company is now winning national recognition, with entrance to the Hispanic Business 500 List in 2007. Most recently, Baca received the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Administrator’s Award for Excellence for companies that excel in overall management, delivery performance, technical capabilities and exceptional results. Dennis Roybal, Small Business Program Manager of the Acquisition Services December/January 2008 HISPANIC ENTERPRISE
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