Aalberg Audio Appoints KMC Music as its Exclusive United States Distributor of the Ground-Breaking, Wireless Controlled Effect Pedals

Adding further momentum to its 2016 business development program, KMC Music (www.kmcmusic.com), the industry-leading distributor of MI and ProAudio products, today announced that it has been appointed by Aalberg Audio (www.aalbergaudio.com) to serve as its exclusive United States distributor.

Roger Hart, KMC Music Vice President of Merchandising, today called the appointment another important step forward in KMC’s 2016 business development program. “While last year was very much a year of transition for KMC, this year is going to be a year of significant growth and expansion as we add more and more lines to our brand portfolio," Hart said. "The addition of Aalberg’s audio effects pedals to our available lines is only going to help drive sales for our dealers.” 

According to Hart, great care has been invested in the hardware and software that makes Aalberg audio effects pedals sound amazing while being intuitive to use — with and without their wireless controller. “The pedals have rich, high definition audio, LED indicators for parameter levels, stereo in/out for multiple signal configurations, and a patented custom designed aluminum housing that is built to last,” he emphasized. “The pedals also the have the ability to wirelessly connect with the Aalberg Update app, enabling musicians to easily upload new content to the pedals.” 

Aalberg Audio of Norway, an award-winning manufacturer of innovative and high-end audio equipment, is committed to becoming the world leader in wireless music equipment. The core products of Aalberg Audio are guitar effects pedals that can be controlled wirelessly from a control unit attached to the guitar. This gives the guitar player greater freedom on stage, and the possibility to manipulate the sound in a manner not previously possible.

The inspiration for wireless effects pedals came to Aalberg Audio co-founder and guitarist Rune Aalberg Alstad after a night out with student friends in 2010 during which they'd been arguing about which were the best effects pedals on the market at that time. Alstad realized that all the pedals shared a common flaw: they are all fixed to one position on stage. The sky opened up and the ideas for a remote controlled pedal just came pouring in. Alstad recalls grabbing the closest object he could write on and scribbling down the blueprint for a remotely controlled effects pedal.

Rune used his idea to form the basis of a Masters degree in Music Technology at the Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU). Rune teamed up with the engineer Torkild Indstøy (now Aalberg's CTO) and entrepreneur Aleksander Torstensen (now Aalberg's CEO). The team has grown since then with many contributors and advisors helping to make our innovative ideas into a reality.

Paiste America Appoints KMC Music to Serve as its Sole United States Distribution Partner

Strengthening a percussion portfolio that already includes Gibraltar, Latin Percussion, Remo, Toca, Vater, and Vic Firth, KMC Music (www.kmcmusic.com) today announced that it has been appointed to serve as the sole United States distribution partner of Paiste America (www.paiste.com), one of the world’s most renowned lines of cymbals, hand cymbals, and gongs that includes the iconic Paiste 2002 Series and the highly respected Paiste Signature Series.

“The addition of Paiste to our already extensive percussion portfolio reinforces our position as the MI retailer’s only true one-stop source for all of their percussion needs,” KMC Music Vice President of Merchandising Roger Hart emphasized today.  “We are proud to be able to offer our customers the cymbals used by artists that include Stewart Copeland, Nicko McBrain, Ian Paice, and Alex Van Halen, among many, many others.” 

The success of Paiste can be directly attributed to the core philosophy that underlies all of its product development programs.  “As a family business, we have always been driven by the goal to constantly create new sounds with cymbals, gongs, and bronze percussion instruments that meet the unique needs of drummers and percussionists,” explained Paiste CEO Erik Paiste.  “And now, with the help of KMC Music’s extensive in-field sales, merchandising, and support teams, the Paiste line of cymbals and gongs is going to be more immediately available to the largest network of MI retailers in the world’s largest MI retail marketplace.” Key house accounts will continue to be served by Paiste America and its own sales team.

“Experimentation, integration, and revolution are all a normal part of the Paiste product development effort,” Erik Paiste continued.  “The art of percussion has evolved to a point where the technical and musical components that go into creating ‘sound’ have reached unprecedented new heights.  Today’s drummers and percussionists speak many musical languages and actively perform in several genres.  Paiste is committed to keeping up with these trends and, as a result, our product line today meets more musical styles and needs than ever before.” 

Core Brands Appoints Indigo Distribution as the Exclusive UK Distributor for the ELAN and Niles Product Lines

Leading control, audio and power solutions provider Core Brands today announced the appointment of Indigo Distribution as the exclusive distributor of its award-winning ELAN® and Niles®brands in the UK. The appointment, effective immediately, is in recognition for Indigo’s outstanding contribution to the double-digit growth in Ireland of ELAN’s control and automation products as well as Niles audio products. The announcement was made by Core Brands Director of International Sales, Simon Spears. 

“Indigo, under the leadership of Matthew Booth, has generated an enormous increase in sales for both ELAN and Niles in Ireland,” Spears said today.  “Their understanding of the product lines, the needs of dealers, and the expectations of end-user residential and commercial customers make them the ideal choice to drive our long-term growth throughout the United Kingdom.  They have earned this opportunity and we are confident that our UK dealers and installers will quickly come to recognize the professionalism and commitment to excellence that has made Indigo such an outstanding success throughout Ireland.”

Based in Bangor, Northern Ireland, Indigo Distribution is a trade-only high value added provider of smart home automation, home theater, and AV solutions for both the residential and commercial markets.  The Indigo team possesses a strong background in systems design and installation and, as a result, they bring a professional perspective to every project that helps dealers and installers to sell more effectively and profitably while exceeding the expectations of all of their end-user customers.  Indigo maintains a true state-of-the-art headquarters that features a warehouse/distribution facility, interactive training center, and demonstration showroom.  What’s more, the entire headquarters is networked and controlled by an ELAN g! System.

“I am absolutely delighted to announce we have the exclusive distribution opportunity for ELAN and Niles products in the whole of the UK as well as Ireland. We are passionate about these brands and about providing incomparable customer service,” Indigo Managing Director Matthew Booth said today.  “My team at Indigo pride themselves on their advanced technical support, as well as their reputation for exceptional customer service. We truly understand the importance of top quality after-sales and technical support in this industry, as well as the importance of building strong relationships with our customers.”

The company regularly holds free training sessions for their customers including multi-level ELAN g! training and comprehensive training for the Niles Auriel Multi-Room Audio System. The comprehensive training schedule has proven hugely successful for Indigo in Ireland and the company will be expanding this training to the UK to support all Elan and Niles dealers. 

Indigo and its dealers have been responsible for a number of major commercial installations over the last couple of years, including significant ELAN installations at the Saphyre Restaurant in Belfast, the Titanic Hotel in Liverpool, the Ponderosa Bar in Londonderry, and the Kris Turnbull Design Studio in Belfast — in addition to countless residential projects that include the home and practice facility of the world’s number one ranked golfer, Rory McIlroy.

Indigo Distribution can be reached at: 

79 Dunlop Commercial Park, Balloo Link, Bangor BT19 7HJ, Northern Ireland. 

+44 (0) 2891 455 565

info@indigodistribution.co.uk

NanoLumens® Introduces Breakthrough in Large Format Visualization at Integrated Systems Europe 2015

NanoLumens®, the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of visualization solutions in any size, shape, or curvature, last week took the systems integration industry by storm with the introduction of the world’s first front installable, front serviceable 2.5MM visual display — the NanoSlim Engage — at the Integrated Systems Europe exhibition in Amsterdam, where it was immediately named Product of the Month by the leading European systems integration magazine, Installation.

“This remarkable advance in visualization technology was immediate received by the European systems integration community for what it is,” Nate Remmes, NanoLumens’ Vice President of Marketing and Business Development said today. “NanoSlim Engage is a great step forward for designers, integrators, and end-users who are demanding an easy-to-install and easy-to-service 2.5MM pixel pitch solution that can be viewed with spectacular edge-to-edge clarify from very short distances.  NanoSlim Engage is the first and only solution that makes this possible practical for a broad range of smaller installation environments like conference rooms, board rooms, and command and control centers.”

And, like all NanoLumens solutions, NanoSlim Engage comes supported by the industry’s only six year, zero failure warranty.

The introduction of the NanoLumens’ NanoSlim Engage comes at a time of record- breaking growth and expansion for the pioneering Georgia-based company that developed the world’s first flexible LED visual display.  In October 2014 the company opened its EMEA region office and showroom in the UK and named industry veteran David DaCosta to serve as its Managing Director in the region. In December, the company ended a year that resulted in explosive revenue growth.  In January 2015 the company announced that it had secured $13.3-million in new financing from an offering of debt and securities. And all of this occurred against a backdrop of major new sales to blue chip clients in the retail, transportation, hospitality, higher education, stadiums, corporate, and gaming channels.

NanoLumens’ current clients include a broad range of marketers covering the fields of broadcast, casinos, control rooms, convention centers, DOOH, higher education, hospitality, retail, stadiums, and transportation including Estee Lauder, Delta Airlines, Holt-Renfrew, TD Garden, CBS Outdoor, Charles Schwab, Invesco, Louisiana State University and the Minneapolis Convention Center, among many others. 

“Supported by a base of strong and loyal customers who are making deep investments in our vision, we expect the company to double in size again in 2015,” Remmes emphasized today.  “Four years after introducing our first commercial product in 2011, we are poised to create scalable visualization solutions that result in immersive consumer experiences that businesses need and consumers crave in our increasingly mobile, interconnected world.”

NanoLumens visualization solutions are extremely slim, ultra-lightweight, energy efficient, and feature a bright, seamless, high resolution picture quality that can be viewed from any angle throughout the display horizon without color shift or image distortion. The company’s patented visualization technology and highly innovative solutions promise to transform the way companies engage their audiences in every type of higher education, retail, hospitality, stadium, arena, casino, transportation and public event environment.

Stampede to Celebrate Year of Record-Breaking Growth at InfoComm 2014

New lines, new dealers, and new market opportunities fuel growth for the industry-leading distributor of ProAV solutions. 

Paced by the addition of a number of new manufacturers to its vendor portfolio, along with a substantial growth in the number of dealers in its network, Stampede Presentation Products, Inc. plans to celebrate a record-setting year of growth next month at INFOCOMM 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

The new manufacturers who have appointed Stampede to serve as a distribution partner include Samsung-Techwin, Parametric, ASK Proxima, Cenique, Circle Technology, We Present, Demo Pad, DISE, Samsung Galaxy Professional Tablets, SAPPHIRE media players, Surf Communications, Videotel, Whoosh! Screen Shine, and NTW among many others.  According to Kelly, these manufacturers are electing to work with Stampede because of the depth of its market knowledge and the strength of its dealer network, which has grown 25 percent in the last year to 11,500 dealers.

A rapidly changing industry is also playing to Stampede’s strengths, according to Kelly.  “The Age of Interactivity is now giving way to a new Age of Hyperactivity characterized by an always-fast, always-on Internet and, as a result, a new era of unprecedented opportunity is now unfolding — creating sales opportunities for dealers that were unimaginable a few short years ago.

“At a time when the traditional AV industry is maturing, a new personalized industry is rising up to take its place, one that is built upon the ideas of connecting, integrating, and sharing devices in entirely new eco-systems built around highly customized software applications,” Kelly explained.  “This shift is challenging our industry to stop using the terms ‘audio and video’ and start using the terms ‘see, hear and control’ in order to understand the business opportunities that this shift is creating.”

Stampede has taken a number of strategic steps to empower its 11,000 dealers to take advantage of this seismic shift by consumers and professionals to connect, integrate and share devices at work, school, government and home.  “Since last year’s InfoComm Show we added 20 new product lines and several new core platforms that traditional AV products can attach to,” Kelly said. 

Even more encouraging for dealers and integrators, Stampede’s sales are growing in all three of its primary product categories — displays, projectors, and unified communications, which is by far the fastest growing segment of the company’s business.

Kelly reaffirmed Stampede’s commitment to constantly add value to every system installation it is involved with.  “Value adds margin for our dealers,” Kelly told Vendor Summit attendees.  “And, thus far in 2014, Stampede is adding value at an unprecedented level that cannot be matched by any other distributor in the business today.  We can add this value on a consistent basis because we are focused exclusively on meeting the needs of the ProAV dealer community.  We are not distracted by other industries and market segments.  We devote 100 percent of our time and considerable resources to helping dealers grow their business.”  

Meeting the demands of growth, however, requires an expanding commitment to maintain face-to-face training, online learning, and readily available credit facilities to qualified dealers, “all of which Stampede is committed to providing,” Kelly added.  “Last year we increased our available monthly credit line by 28 percent, enabling us to serve as a bank to our dealer partners.  This year we are opening a new southwest regional office and adding to our field sales team network to increase the number of contacts we can have with dealers and their customers.”