Germany - German manufacturer Kling & Freitag has announced that Michael Kinzel is the new managing director of the company. The changes are the result of the company's continued growth, with a larger company requiring a reappraisal of the management structure. In making their choice, Martin Kling and Jürgen Freitag decided to take somebody who knew the company well. Kinzel has worked with K&F for more than five years and supported Martin and Jürgen in the development of the reputation of the brand. Beside his new position, Kinzel will continue to be responsible for international sales.

Martin Kling remains in charge of the R&D department as the technical director, while Jürgen Freitag is taking care of the German key customers and is also responsible for special projects and customer support; among other projects he has recently finished a project which incolved the delive

USA - Following the return of Bill Groener to the Production Resource Group (PRG), after a spell at Color Kinetics, PRG has announced that Groener will take on the role of vice-president and general manager of its Systems Integration Group. Groener, a long-time industry veteran, was formerly general manager of PRG's northeast US lighting operations. The company says that Groener left them in early 2004 to help Color Kinetics, an important PRG supplier, launch a series of new initiatives designed to increase and expand its sales and distribution of LED lighting products in North America.

Jere Harris, PRG's chairman and CEO, said: "It's great to have Bill back. New technologies are having a big impact on permanently installed lighting systems, and Bill has acquired a tremendous depth of experience with them."

Groener's return to PRG will allow Anne Johnston, who led

Canada - Lighttex Canada Inc, the manufacturer of Lighttex Soft Egg Crates, has announced the appointment of Robert Paine as director of sales. Paine brings more than a dozen years of experience managing plant operations, quality systems and product and marketing development with a concentration in textiles. In his role as director of sales, he will build a North American sales network to support the commercial launch of Lighttex Soft Egg Crates, an architectural product that delivers aesthetics, space definition, light control and daylighting benefits, say the company.

"My focus and passion is customer satisfaction through quality product and service," says Paine. "Lighttex is both a powerful and elegant product that is poised to add the next dimension of architecture and daylighting. Our goal is to bring world-class service and solutions to help architects, des

UK - Professional audio distributor, Autograph Sales, has appointed Mike Mann to its board of directors. He will be responsible for sales and business development, in addition to handling the increasing number of design and installation projects now being tackled by the company.

Mann has been with Autograph Sales for over two years, holding the post of technical manager, providing pre and post sales support to customers. Previously, he has worked for Meyer Sound, Cadac Electronics, Soundcraft and Drake, while his first job in the industry was in the Royal Opera House sound department.

"I became addicted to live performance as a very junior sound engineer in Covent Garden - and it's that kind of lasting passion that drives the Autograph team. This is an exciting time for pro audio and Autograph Sales," he says.

(Jim Evans)

USA - Entertainment and architectural lighting manufacturer ETC (Electronic Theatre Controls Inc) has named Mark Veldey as vice-president of Finance. Veldey, as an outside investment banker, advised ETC on its successful acquisition of Transtechnik Lichtsysteme, Holzkirchen, Germany, in 2002. After joining ETC as general counsel, he directed ETC's acquisitions of Avab France, Paris; and IES and Penko Engineering, Veenendaal, the Netherlands. ETC's CEO Fred Foster says: "In his many roles with ETC, Mark has become completely familiar with our business and culture. His broad set of skills has proven to be very valuable to us. As part of the ETC executive team, he will add a great new dimension to our strategic financial planning."

Veldey's previous work experience includes practicing law with the Milwaukee firm Cook & Franke, treasury and corporate finance responsibilit

UK - Christopher Darnley has been appointed as sales manager - export at the UK branch of JVC Professional Europe. Darnley brings 8 years experience working in the broadcast and audio visual industry. He joins the established export sales team headed by general manager Tim Rawlings, and will be instrumental in further developing business in the Middle East and Africa regions.

Darnley comments, "I am delighted to be working for JVC. They are strong players in the industry, with an excellent reputation, and I have a great respect for their products, service and expertise."

"To meet the increasing demand for systems solutions in this market, we are delighted to have Chris on board. He has a wealth of experience in the critical aspects of sales, and his practical experience in lighting, sound recording and post production will be invaluable to developing prospec

Hong Kong - Out Board has confirmed Jolly Pro Audio as exclusive Hong Kong and China distributor for its TiMax audio imaging delay matrix and showcontrol processor. Following the announcement, CEO Andy Leung organised a seminar in Hong Kong where Out Board director Robin Whittaker presented the psychoacoustic principles and advanced delay management techniques of TiMax to an audience of sound designers, contractors and engineers.

TiMax's use of multiple precedence delays to enhance intelligibility through precise localisation of voice and musical instrument sources were explained and demonstrated. It was shown how this "source-oriented reinforcement" technique ensures each audience member will localise to the acoustic output from the stage of an actor, singer or musician just a few milliseconds before receiving any amplified sound. Delegates also heard how stereo or su

Singapore - Stephen Tan returns to High End Systems (HES) Singapore as the regional sales manager for Southeast and Northeast Asia. Tan was previously business development manager at HES Singapore during 1995-1998. He left to start his own company -- focusing on lighting design, installation and servicing - which he has been running until his return to HES.

"It's time to move lighting into the digital age in the Asian market," says Tan. "It's a good time for me to follow the technology. Digital lighting has become a main attraction for me, and I'm excited to be 'home' at High End again."

Tan will soon be scheduling Open House and demo events at the HES facility, and will represent HES at upcoming trade shows such as CALME in May and PALA in July.

Bill Morris, VP of Sales, said "We're excited to have Stephen return. We have experienced a tremendous am

UK - Surrey-based loudspeaker manufacturer EM Acoustics has named Chris Hinds as sales and marketing director. Known throughout the industry for his work with Turbosound and Beyerdynamic, Hinds' role is primarily looking after international relationships, as well as strengthening the already-developing brand within the UK. Hinds says: "The offer of working with an exciting, emerging brand was too good an opportunity to pass up. Drawing from my own experiences of loudspeaker design, EM Acoustics have some very talented designers, and it is this that initially drew my attention towards them."

(Lee Baldock)

Italy - Gioia Molinari has been appointed head of marketing and communications for Italian audio manufacturer RCF SpA. Molinari graduated in marketing and languages at UWIC (University Wales Institute Cardiff) has previously worked in the banking sector. Initially she worked for two years in London for Deutsche Bank, before moving to Milan. She then returned to London where she was responsible for all the bank's Equities Marketing activities in Europe.

After six years in the banking sector Molinari decided to go back to Italy to pursue a different career in a more creative environment. She joined the RCF team on 1 March where she will be responsible for looking after all the public relations activities, as well as updating the website. Molinari commented on her appointment: "I'm looking forward to working in the audio industry and the new challenges that it offers. One of m

UK - Technolight, a leading designer and distributor of professional lighting systems, has announced the appointment of Louise Tester to its new division, Light Planning Techniques. Tester is well known in the entertainment side of the lighting industry, having worked for 14 years as sales manager of DHA Lighting Services Ltd. She will be providing services from Light Planning Techniques as a total lighting solutions provider. At the same time, Technolight has announced the appointment of John Hannaford as sales manager for Technolight.

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Rory O'Neill has been appointed by Arena Structure's as commercial manager, an appointment which the company says is in line with its ongoing growth strategy. Specifically, O'Neill will be concentrating on developing projects outside of the traditional seasonal peaks, while also fostering relationships with existing clients'.

O'Neill has a varied background which includes eight years in investment banking. He has developed more obvious skills for his role with Arena Structures having worked on numerous events projects over 17 years, including being part of the production team for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. O'Neill commented on his new position: "I am thrilled to be given this opportunity to work with such a dynamic team, with a company that has secured such a varied clientele with such a vast range of products."

(Lee Baldock)

UK - Phil Cobourne has joined Showsec as UK Safety & Project Manager. He will primarily work on large scale events and develop the company's health and safety consultancy service.

Previously employed by the Tussauds Group at Warwick Castle, his 11 years there included numerous events from the castle's in-house classical concerts, the film première for King Arthur, three episodes of Mastermind, the first National Lottery outside broadcast and pop concerts ranging from Simply Red in 1999 to the Summer Nights concerts in 2004.

Showsec is servicing a steadily increasing number of one-off and annual events requiring professional crowd management, security and health and safety services. MD Mark Harding commented: "Phil brings a wealth of knowledge and experience and he will help to increase the momentum we have towards a health and safety conscious

UK - Martin Professional A/S recently announced that Henrik Miller will be the company's new R&D director. Henrik comes to Martin with roots in project-oriented R&D and an extensive background in product engineering. He has held previous R&D positions at Purup Electronics, Terma, Crisplant, I/O Technology and Esko-Graphics, all of which are Danish firms.

Based at the Martin headquarters in Aarhus, Denmark, Miller's main responsibility will be to oversee Martin's R&D activities at both its Danish and Chinese facilities. "My primary focus at Martin will be to strengthen the project organization and continue to work on the integration of product development into the main business process," he stated.

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

Denmark - Kristian Kolding, the former President/CEO of Martin Professional, has entered the Board of Directors at Swedish gobo manufacturer Beacon AB. Martin Professional and Beacon entered a strategic partnership in 2001, in which Martin purchased 25% of the share capital to ensure the future supply of quality gobos. Subsequently, Beacon has become Martin's most important supplier of standard gobos and its preferred partner for custom gobos.

"I'm excited to join the Beacon board," says Kolding. "Beacon is - based on their own patented technology - one of the world leaders in this very specialized industry and I look forward to help continuing the positive trend."

Kolding held the CEO post of Martin Professional from 1998 to 2004, a six-year period in which he saw a dramatic growth in the company, more than doubling its size. Today Martin Professional is p

UK - The return of David Morbey to D&M Professional Europe has led to a number of new appointments being confirmed, as general manager Mark Perrins reshuffles his 'cabinet'. Explaining the rationale, Mark states, "When the Denon and Marantz operations merged last year there wasn't a great deal of movement in personnel. But with the benefit of a year's trading behind us there is now the opportunity to restructure on a more defined European basis."

This has been influenced by the centralizing of all stock within Germany, the appointment of four country managers (each with their own reps), the newly-created position of a German-based European service co-ordinator and a product planner - all of which are central to the strategic development.

Crucial to the change in the UK is the appointment of David Morbey to the new position of product manager - where he takes on respo

UK - To optimize the presence of MA products in the UK market and to strengthen the support and communication MA Lighting is going to found its own UK subsidiary. For this, Richard Lambert has just joined the MA team as Technical Director UK. Lambert will support the UK sales and project business in a decisive way, especially for tenders and complex system integrations. Richard is both a product and system expert and he will become an active part between sales and the market.

Lambert is highly experienced and competent in the field of entertainment lighting and technical services. With a BSC (Hons) in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, PGCE (Physics) and senior management roles with previous employers such as Walt Disney's World on Ice and ETC Europe, Lambert has gained longstanding experience in managing, training, commissioning and supporting many large projects.(Sarah Rus

UK - Bosch Security Systems has appointed Jeremy Hockham as MD of its UK operations. Based at the main Bosch HQ facility in Denham, Hockham brings a successful track record of over 15 years in general management, and extensive experience in the security industry: he was previously international MD for Honeywell Security Group, responsible for all international operations outside the US including UK, Europe and Asia for several years.

His new role at Bosch is to build on the well-established values of the Bosch brand name for quality of products, services and technology and to accelerate Bosch's growth as one of the big four security companies in the UK. "Bosch Security Systems is renowned not only for the quality of its products and support but also for its long-term investment and commitment to the security market and its customers," said Jeremy Hockham.

Jeremy Hock

USA - QSC Audio Products Inc has appointed Joe Etrick to the position of Systems Specialist, Installed Sound. In his new role, Etrick's main focus will be to provide sales andtechnical support of QSC's loudspeaker and digital networking products as they relate to complete system packages. In addition, he will be on hand for EASE software data modelling for any dealers or installers requiring technical assistance for system installations.

Before joining QSC, Etrick was a Manufacturers' Representative with TroutFarm Technical Sales, QSC's Northern California rep firm. His position consisted of sales and technical support for the 15 lines of professional audio and video products TroutFarm represents. Etrick's resume spans nearly four decades, and includes radio and television broadcast engineering, retail audio and video sales, and commercial audio and video contracting. He is a me

Canada - Cast Software has hired Joshua Koffman, formerly of Spectrum Manufacturing Inc, to join its marketing department as assistant product manager. Koffman will focus primarily on the continual development of WYSIWYG, Cast's flagship lighting design software. "I'm thrilled to be joining Cast's team, and hope to encourage users to share their thoughts and ideas", says Koffman. "It's an exciting place to be with the recent launch of Vivien and the ongoing development of WYSIWYG. I believe my lighting expertise will only complement Cast's innovative approach to creating software for the entertainment industry."

"Josh brings unique expertise and a new perspective that will enable us to improve our software offerings," says Ben Sanford, director of marketing for Cast. "We have a diverse group of industry professionals on our product management t

Germany - Nico Lewis joined EVI Audio on the 1 May 2005 in the capacity of Intercom sales manager with responsibility for Europe, Africa and the Middle East; it's an area in which he has plenty of experience, after a highly successful five year stint with the Dutch Telex distributor Axon Digital Design.

Already relishing the opportunities, he said: "Through my work for Axon, I am extremely familiar with the company's range: I know the advantages and the potential of all Telex/RTS systems, which is why I am able to approach this job in such a confident frame of mind."

(Sarah Rushton-Read)

UK - As part of its growth strategy into the AV market, CIE-Group (UK representative for many of the UK's leading AV, CCTV, lighting and electronics brands) has announced the appointment of four new field sales advisors to its team.

Martin Featherstone joins CIE-Group's Audio Division, having moved from LiteStructures, Alison Reynolds (previously from Gardiner Security) joins the Visual and CCTV Division, Adam Bright joins the Specialist Cable Assembly and Connector Division and Andrew Skadorwa also joins Visual & CCTV.

This boost to CIE-Group's sales team forms part of the Company's investment for growth across all divisions into the AV, presentation, retail and education sectors. A number of new product developments from Inter-M, Chiayo, EverFocus, Chauvet and Switchcraft and the addition of brands including Armstrong i-ceilings, ELMO cameras, B-52 Pro and Euromet brings a n

UK / USA - David Edelstein, MD and founder of track systems specialist Triple E Ltd, is to ride a Harley Davidson across the USA as part of The Long Beach Long Riders charity cross-country motorcycle ride in aid of the charity Broadway Cares/ Equity Fights Aids. Sponsored by Triple E's US distributor, Rosebrand, Edelstein is the only British member of the 11-strong team of technical theatre professionals.

Founded in 1988, BC/EFA is America's leading industry-based AIDS fund-raising and grant-making organization. By drawing on the talents, resources and generosity of the theatre community, BC/EFA has to date raised over $100 million for people with AIDS, HIV and HIV related illnesses. The 2005 Long Beach Long Ride begins on 26 June, and Edelstein and co will traverse over 1,300 miles in three days, from Washington DC to Hays, Kansas. He told us: "This is a fantastic opportun

Denmark - Following the departure of Kristian Kolding from the company in late 2004, Martin Professional's owner, Schouw & Co, has announced the appointment of Christian Engsted as the new CEO and president for Martin Professional. Engsted leaves a position as CEO and President of SeaWest WindPower in San Diego, California. Engsted will begin his work at Martin on 15 May 2005 bringing with him vast experience in international management. During the past 12 years, Engsted and his wife and two daughters have lived abroad in Sweden, East Africa and North America.

Engsted holds a B.Sc degree in industrial engineering from Odense University College of Engineering. From 1988 to 2001, he was associated with the ABB Group, and as of 1994 he acted as President of some of its subsidiaries, ending with this position in ABB Service Inc. Since August 2001, he has been the head of SeaWest Win

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