There was quite the bit of newsmakers this week in the Pro AV industry. PowerHouse Alliance has a new board, Uniguest makes another acquisition, Hall Technologies and Screen Innovations made some people news while others made waves as well.
Here's what you missed.
[SCN Announces 2023 Stellar Service Awards]
PowerHouse Alliance Announces New Board
PowerHouse Alliance unveiled the new PowerHouse Alliance board of directors chosen unanimously by PowerHouse member companies. The new leadership is passionate about driving success for all 70+ PHA member locations and the dealers which they support.
New board members include:
- President: Garrett Breinholt, Mountain West
- Vice President: Pat Berna,UI Supplies
- Secretary: Craig Breinholt, Mountain West
- At-Large Board Member: Nate Taliani, Davis Distribution
- At-Large Board Member: Alec Haight, Pioneer Music
Uniguest Expands Senior Living Engagement Offering with Acquisition of Eversound
Uniguest has acquired Eversound, a technology and content provider specializing in creating engagement for senior living communities to improve quality of life for residents.
Founded in 2015 out of Cornell University’s eLab business accelerator, Boston, MA-based Eversound now helps tens of thousands of older adults in over 1,000 communities live more socially connected lives. Eversound technology is known to reduce social isolation, slow cognitive decline, and break-down barriers common in a senior living environment.
Eversound’s membership program provides advanced wireless headphones to increase accessibility for residents of varying levels of hearing loss, and access to a curated library of interactive content programs designed for seniors. The wireless headphone technology connects to the community’s audiovisual (AV) system and enables residents to experience immersive programming on a day-to-day basis throughout the community.
Education Technology Specialist, Flynn Kelly Joins Hall for Business Development
Hall Technologies recently added 30-year AV veteran, Flynn Kelly, to its team to build its education sector business. Kelly hails from a long career on the system integration and engineering side of designing audio-visual projects.
“I’m excited to start my next long career stint at Hall," said Kelly. "Their products are amazing! That’s one of the main reasons for making the move to Hall—their innovations are flourishing. They’ve really nailed the concept of being a one-stop shop for classroom and UCC solutions. Expect big things from Hall Technologies, and especially in the Education and Corporate verticals. I’ll be on-hand during InfoComm to demonstrate some of those solutions. Be sure to calendar a time to stop by our booth."
Blake Vackar Rejoins Screen Innovations
Screen Innovations announced Blake Vackar returned as the company’s brand ambassador. Vackar, who began his first stint with Screen Innovations in 2009 and helped the company launch the Black Diamond brand, rejoins after 18 months at Meyer Sound where he served as residential sales manager. From March 2009 to February 2020, Vackar was director and vice president of sales at Screen Innovations.
With more than 25 years of industry experience—including five years each at Dyer Electronics and D-Tools—Vackar brings a wealth of knowledge and acumen back to Screen Innovations at the dealer, integrator, and manufacturing levels.
[Captain's Log: FlexGlass Projection Screen Powers Starship Console in ‘Star Trek: Picard’]
With Screen Innovation ramping up for growth in new and exciting ways, Vackar’s focus will be strengthening dealer relationships and delivering the personal touch, helping integrators get into people’s homes and businesses and show them what’s possible so they can be mesmerized by the experience.
“Screen Innovations wants to help integrators do more and better business; we want to work with our dealers closely and sell the experience together,” Vackar said. “We are going to make it more personal with our dealers and they will feel the difference immediately.
“Bringing projector and screen together has never been easier. We are making it the mission of Screen Innovations to bring that seamless experience to the world and own it. We will make it accessible for everyone. A large part of my job is to educate the dealer on the details of the installation and give them every ounce of support they need so they can respond to their customers right away.”
nsign.tv Appoints Stratech as Exclusive Distributor in Mexico
nsign.tv appointed of Stratech—a Mexican company specializing in developing personalized sensory marketing strategies—as the exclusive distributor in Mexico for its digital signage platform.
Stratech has been a DIAMOND partner of nsign.tv since early 2019 and will now exclusively market the brand’s smart digital signage software in Mexico, mainly in projects focused on the retail, restaurant, hotel, entertainment, and corporate industries.
Stratech has already activated hundreds of licenses of the nsign.tv platform at its various customers, including cinema exhibition companies, coffee, fashion and DIY chains, government institutions, QSR restaurants, supermarkets, and pharmacies.
CAD Distribution Adds Two Firms as Reps in the U.S.
CAD Distribution, representing six Manufactures in Commercial AV for the North America markets, added Jurus Technology Group and MusicPro Marketing. Jurus Technology will representative the New England market in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and upstate New York, beginning May 1, 2023. MusicPro Marketing will focus on the Mid-Atlantic territory including Southern New Jersey, Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Washington DC, Maryland, and Virginia.
