In a study of trends in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa), analysts of the Gartner Group have ranked transtec among the largest server producers in this area. The system manufacturer was ranked fifth in sales volume among Linux server vendors, ahead of such well-known companies as Sun Microsystems, NEC and Maxdata. In the case of sales of x86-32/64-based servers, transtec occupied tenth place in the EMEA region and again bested Sun Microsystems for eighth place in western Europe. Gartner ranked transtec, which recently further strengthened its position as a result of acquisitions and holdings, tenth in server sales in Western Europe and eleventh in the EMEA region. Turnover rose by nearly twenty percent over the past year. According transtec's CEO Dieter Weisshaar, "The Gartner ranking demonstrates that our strategy of focusing on server and storage solutions augmented by cluster systems has put us on the right track. Our emphasis on custom-tailored products coupled with our flexibility are highly appreciated by our customers, as the analysts' results show." According to Gartner, the world-wide server market showed strong growth during the first quarter, with business sales increasing by nine percent.