The reaction was positive, with ETA reporting a flood of enquiries about products such as the LB-100 and LT-100/ 200 - coupled with a continual stream of positive comments, many from Australia's lighting industry leaders. One renowned LD, Rohan Thornton of Firelight, stated: "Seeing the new SGM range was refreshing. In a time when we are seeing more of the same, there were a number of SGM products which definitely caught my eye."
Dave Croxton is the man behind ETA - which began trading on 1 July. It had been a chance meeting with SGM representatives in Jakarta, Indonesia, which originally set the ball rolling. Croxton was there working for another manufacturer. "Over lunch we discussed each other's companies and how they were both driven by passionate industry icons. I love working with innovative technology, introducing something new and better to the market and the SGM guys were looking for a distributor in Australia."
He was soon approaching business partners about the prospect of setting up a new distribution company, Entertainment Technology Australia, heavily focusing on SGM as the primary brand. "The beauty of a new start up is that the company can take a fresh approach to the market and its distribution structure. We have some plans for new marketing strategies with SGM and we will look at how other brands fit into that mould."
Jamie Payet, who has previously worked with Croxton, was engaged in the role of national sales manager and with warehousing in Melbourne and just outside Sydney, ETA were able to hit the ground running. ENTECH became the perfect launch-pad as the show had a strong lighting focus and was tied to SMPTE. This gave them good exposure to the TV stations and film studios, the company says.
As a result of the successful launch, ETA now see endless opportunities for SGM. "Presently, the main interest seems to be in the LED effects, but there is plenty of interest in the strobes, washes and the amazing SixPacks," says Croxton. "It is just a matter of getting these products into the hands of operators and designers in this market. Like most countries around the world, Australia is becoming very energy conscious and the power saving capabilities of these new fixtures and their robust, long life performance will be big selling points for customers here in Australia."
(Jim Evans)
