"Calling ourselves 'ETC' means much more than a simple name change," says the company's Bill Gallinghouse. "It represents the total integration of the people, technologies and products of four strong companies and brands into a unified portfolio. Now we can offer the best lighting solutions to each European market."
ETC has assembled a strong group of talented people in Europe by combining Transtechnik, IES and Avab with the ETC Europe team. "Their unparalleled dedication to products and service is evident in the relationships that they have developed with their customers, as well as in the reputations and heritages that the brands have earned." ETC has more than 100 employees in Europe, living and working in seven countries.
Project services are available for the smallest installations to the largest turnkey television studios and are coordinated through the ETC office in Holzkirchen, Germany. Technical service and support, a hallmark of ETC's success, is provided by the extensive Authorised Service Centres (ASC) network that the company has been developing in Europe over the last 10 years.
ETC now offers an extensive product portfolio ranging from popular Source Four luminaires to cost-effective Smart Solutions products to the acclaimed quality of Transtechnik lighting systems to innovative Avab control desks and pioneering IES sine wave dimming. Says Gallinghouse, "With our recently integrated European sales team, the people you have always known can now offer more solutions to your lighting needs."
The company says it is continuing the development of new products, maintaining the heritage and philosophy of each brand. Recent introductions include the ETC SmartFade and Avab Congo consoles, which were developed using the talents of ETC engineers in England, Germany, the United States and Sweden. IES dimming products are being integrated into ETC, Transtechnik and Avab control systems, and Transtechnik NT consoles are being enhanced with new hardware and features.
ETC brand products are manufactured and assembled in Germany, Holland, the UK and the US, by the experts who have been producing them for many years. As a model of future ETC production practices, SmartFade, a console that was developed by engineers in four countries, is being manufactured both in Germany and the US.
"By making significant investments in people, product development and infrastructure," says Gallinghouse, "we are able to offer some of the best brands in Europe, along with the service and support that Transtechnik, IES, Avab and ETC are traditionally known for."
(Lee Baldock)
