Electrosonic's story is complex but in many ways it parallels the history of audio-visual technology, and provides a window into how the industry and its services and products have changed.
Founded by Denis Naisbitt, Michael Ray and Robert Simpson, the company opened with the strapline "Electronic Control and Audio Systems". From the start, Electrosonic combined the manufacturing and selling of products with the building of complete engineered systems. Key product categories included electronic lighting control, multi-image slide projection and videowalls. The product and systems portions of the business continued together through 2010 when the products side of the business, which by then represented a small portion of overall revenue, was sold.
"The 50 year anniversary marks an important milestone for the company as we look back on our incredible heritage of talent and accomplishments. Electrosonic is continually investing in new generations of talented staff through mentoring and education as we continue to push the limits of what AV technology can do," says Jim Bowie, President of Electrosonic Group. "A key element of Electrosonic's success, and one that we are very proud of, is our long and enduring relationship with designers, suppliers and customers."
Electrosonic carried out many impressive and memorable projects over the last 50 years all around the world, from multi-image spectaculars in 1970s Iran and the world's biggest videowall in Seville in 1992 to massive projection displays at EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.
In its present role as designer and integrator of complex systems, Electrosonic continues to exploit advances in technology. The business today serves three market sectors, each of which is treated on a global basis. The largest is entertainment, followed by corporate and control rooms. Beyond system engineering, Electrosonic has always offered ancillary services to further assist its clients. Today these include support services, managed services and technical design consulting.
Electrosonic will release a book about its history in late March 2014, with the title Electrosonic - 50 Years on the Audio-Visual Frontline. Written by co-founder Robert Simpson, the book presents a short history of the company, and chapters on its products, notable projects completed, its people and on the company's contributions to the AV industry.
(Jim Evans)
