What plans do you have for the future of the Millbank name'
There are very few global brands within our particular sector and this is an opportunity to re-position Millbank back at the top of the pile. Worldwide distribution channels take a long time to put in place and we now need to work with our partners to ensure that the placing of the brand is maintained. The product line will be enhanced - quickly and powerfully. Some of the products suffer from an image of being a bit tired, although I have been very pleasantly surprised with their functionality.
What investment will there be in the brand'
Firstly, we have recognized that people work for Millbank, not a faceless conglomerate. Therefore the biggest investment will come from them by being associated and working with something where their individual input is valued. Secondly, there will be an investment in new product. Some of that will come from the Ampekko range, which is quite complementary as its own strengths and weaknesses are in contrast to those of Millbank. But we also have a strong development team. Thirdly, there will be investment in building better partnerships with distributors and customers with increased liaison, training and enhanced customer service. Whilst this might sound like a glib assurance, these are all areas recently cited as weaknesses within the organization. Lastly, we'll use a promotional campaign to ensure that the new products are visible.
Will you manufacture or contract'
This will remain a mixture. As it has always been with Ampekko and, I believe, with Millbank - although 30-odd years of history is hard to grasp quickly. It depends on the actual lines in question.
Do you foresee any integration between product lines'
Definitely. Ampekko, although it has been successful in the UK, has not reached foreign shores and by amalgamating the products into the Millbank range, we are looking for better numbers for Ampekko and increased product range for distributors, without putting them to the task of introducing an unknown brand name into their market. VxLAN is still such a strong concept. It may not be the last word in multi-multi channel, but for the specs I get to see, it achieves the requirements. It needs that bigger market. Also, the Millbank philosophy hasn't lent itself well to boxed product VA. Parallel banked systems aren't the easiest to configure and our Ampekko Max series will offer that 'out of the box' solution which will really help.
Any thoughts on the market in general'
Quiet. But less quiet than it was. Enquiry levels are good for the future. I don't think that's just us. The VA market is still developing rapidly. Unless you're a manufacturer, you can't really play at the highest levels, because the top level of contractors don't want to see any more levels of mark up than they have to. So you need to control the source of the materials that you quote in your marketplace. The pro market is still marching on with some great new products.
What do you see as the major challenges facing your sector today'
The challenges in VA remain the same. Not letting the fire companies play all of us off against each other until our margin is shredded - some of our speaker companies in particular seem determined to crucify themselves that way. We must also defend and promote our standards as the prevalent world standard, rather than letting others supplant our standards with their own rather lower-grade VA concepts. And also, getting end-user clients to maintain their systems as normal practice, rather than as rarely observed best practice.
What are your aims now
