Richard Mead told PLASA Media: "After so many years it is sad to be leaving Flying Pig. I don't think it is a decision any of us took lightly, and I am disappointed that it was not possible to find a way forward acceptable to all involved. All of us are very proud of everything we developed at Flying Pig and want to thank everyone in the industry who has worked with us and been so supportive over the years."
He added: "Right now we are all taking a long-overdue break and exploring various opportunities. We have always enjoyed working together as a team and hopefully that will continue in some new venture."
A statement from HES said: "A few long-term Flying Pig members approached High End Systems about an unsolicited buy-out of the Flying Pig operation from HES. Since High End has no desire to sell this strategic part of our operations, those people decided to leave the company."
On the future of the Wholehog III, HES comments: "High End Systems is committed to the Wholehog III and to other Hog products and development will continue. We have a very aggressive schedule for new products as well as the Wholehog III software enhancements. In fact, within a few weeks we are launching a new version of software (version 1.3) for Wholehog III, which brings exciting new functionality to the console. So far, reaction among early users and Beta testers is positive and exciting."
Flying Pig Systems was founded in 1991 by Nick Archdale, Nils Thorjussen and Tom Thorne, and its Wholehog II lighting desk has become one of the most successful lighting control platforms in the industry. The company merged with Texas-based automated lighting manufacturer HES in May 1999.
(Lee Baldock)
