"We are taking advantage of the tremendous advantages silent dimming offers our customers, and are introducing IGBT technology into new areas," said Bob Schacherl, Entertainment Technology's vice-president of sales. "Other manufacturers are only now beginning to realize the advantages of silent dimming and are struggling to enter the market. Entertainment Technology is far and away the leader in the field. We're 12 years ahead of the rest of the industry."
Schacherl and regional sales manager Jim Crooks have met with dealers throughout Europe. Regional sales manager Jaime Friedstadt has begun the same process in Latin America, as has J.R. Chai in Asia. John Bilyk has recently been appointed Entertainment Technology regional sales manager for Canada. Bilyk, Chai and Friedstadt will also retain their roles as regional sales managers for Vari-Lite in each of their respective territories. By taking advantage of resources and relationships shared with sister-company Vari-Lite, Entertainment Technology believes it will be able to quickly penetrate these new markets with an experienced staff and reputable dealers.
"These are very exciting times for Entertainment Technology and its expansion into the global lighting market," Schacherl added. "We hold great hope for products like the Bak Pak IGBT individual dimmer, the Marquee control console family and the Intelligent Raceway distributed dimming system. Each of these products has been introduced in North America in the past two years and all have drawn great interest from the industry. We expect the same type of response internationally."
Entertainment Technology says it will offer its full line of systems dimming products, including IPS Dimmer Strips and the recently upgraded Capio Plus dimmer racks. The developments with Entertainment Technology do not affect any agreements currently in place with independent rep agencies or with Lightolier offices, say the company.
(Lee Baldock)
