Qualitron is a Helsinki-based broadcast systems engineering company serving the broadcast industry in Finland, Russia, Ukraine and other Confederation of Independent States (CIS) countries. The company employs 32 people, including a 12-person office in Moscow, and the emphasis is on the provision of the latest digital broadcasting technology. Turnover in 2001 was approximately US$10 million. Managing director Tapani Karjalainen will continue to manage the company.
Both these new companies in the Electrosonic Group will report to Kyle Carpenter, the Group president and CEO. "We are very excited to expand the Electrosonic portfolio with the addition of Lightinen and Qualitron. Both of these companies bring extended geographic reach, market penetration and technology scale to the Electrosonic Group. Likewise, they will provide a stable platform upon which Electrosonic’s core strengths in image processing and audio-visual systems integration can be developed for market share growth in the Finnish and CIS markets", said Carpenter.
Philip Aminoff, chairman of the Electrosonic Group, and a principal owner, said: "This expansion of the Group realistically puts Electrosonic on a path to achieve a turnover of US $100 million over the next few years. It also helps to ensure that the global Electrosonic brand is operating in virtually every part of the world."
The companies within the enlarged group are already well known to each other, and share a common majority ownership. For many years, Qualitron and Electrosonic have been 'sister companies' within the Helvar Merca Group; and Lightinen has been Electrosonic’s distributor in Finland. The creation of a single Electrosonic Group as a separate group in its own right represents a strong commitment to the market.
(Lee Baldock)
