The Dealers' Choice Customer Service Awards offer ESTA's Dealer Members the opportunity to publicly recognize those manufacturers that provide consistently good customer service throughout the year, and recognize high performance in four main areas - Customer Service, Shipping & Billing, Technical Support and Quotations/Project Management. Dealers cast their votes for Manufacturers in each of three categories based on the Manufacturers' number of employees, 1-6, 7-25, and over 25. The winners for 2003 are Doug Fleenor Design (1-6 employees category), City Theatrical (7-25 employees category) and Apollo Design Technology (over 25 employees category).
The Manufacturers' Choice Dealers of the Year Awards offer ESTA's Manufacturer Members the opportunity to publicly recognize those dealers that "just do it right", recognizing high performance in Staff, Sales and Marketing, Inventory, and Financial Responsibility. The winners for 2003 are Murphy Lighting Systems (1-6 employees category), Parlights (7-25 employees category) and Vincent Lighting Systems (over 25 employees category).
The Dealers' Choice Product Awards recognize outstanding entertainment technology products in three categories: Expendable, Widget and Equipment. These Awards were established in recognition of the fact that dealers have an enormous impact on the success of a new product, as well as a unique perspective on its merits. For 2003, the Expendable Category winner was a tie between two products: firstly, the Frosted Dichroic Glass Filter from Lee Filters combines colour and diffusion in one filter. The result is a diffusion which reduces halation and softens the light beam as well as the colour saturation. The Frosted Glass series is available in 12 colours plus a no colour diffusion. Sharing the award was the HPR 575 / 115 lamp from Osram Sylvania. A patent pending high-performance tungsten halogen lamp for theatrical, concert, and architectural applications, the HPR 575 / 115 features an internal reflector that increases the efficiency and maximizes the optics of most fixtures. Increased light output means fewer fixtures and reduced energy consumption.
The winner in the Widget Category was the E-String from Lex Products Corp: the E-String feed-through power cord is a 50ft all black unit with six compact NEMA 5-15 outlets spaced at 8ft intervals with extra flexible 12 or 14 AWG portable cord, and is an ideal way to distribute power to orchestras, meeting rooms and backstage for scenery.
The winner in the Equipment Category was the Preset 10 from Doug Fleenor Design: this is a DMX512A snapshot device that records up to 10 looks and plays them back at the press of a button. Available in a portable enclosure or as a single gang wall plate, the unit can function as a stand-alone playback device or as an in-line backup device.
(Lee Baldock)
