Penn Elcom chairman and founder Roger Willems stated: "The Irish pro entertainment industry market shows definitive signs of recovering from the economic dip, there are many installations and other projects happening and flourishing! It's been our intention to open a base there for some time, but then circumstances converged to make this a really opportune time."
These circumstances include Rory becoming available to run Penn Elcom Ireland and also the 7000sq.ft warehouse facility in south County Dublin coming on-stream, so with these two plusses, Roger activated the plan. Stock of Penn's extensive standard flightcase hardware and accessories and its most popular 19" rack ranges will be available for Irish clients from stock.
Rory has been in the flightcase business since the late 1980s and has known Roger since the early 1990s initially through purchasing Penn products for his then company's cases. He took a break from the world of flightcases in 2008, returning to the scene in 2016 after being head-hunted by Roger.
"We are extremely fortunate to have someone of Rory's calibre taking care of the operation" continues Roger, "he brings a vast fund of experience, particularly in flightcase manufacture, excellent communication skills and large contact base to the equation. That and the fact that we've known each other for 25 years or so make him an ideal choice."
Rory adds: "I'm hugely excited to be running Penn Elcom Ireland. Penn's brand is incredibly strong, the products are fantastic and renowned for quality and being well-engineered, and that's why most of the most prolific flightcase manufacturers want Penn products on their cases.
Rory will initially be working alongside other key personnel at the Dublin base and new staff will be recruited as the company grows.
(Jim Evans)
