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in brief LT-light has announced the appointment of Lightronics Inc. as its new distributor for the Hydra Range of lighting controllers for the USA and Canada. The well-known American company will provide full sales assistance, extensive technical support and service as well as customer training and specialist seminars. This new deal will enhance the prestige that HYDRA consoles are obtaining world-wide thanks to their high technology, reliable design and affordable price. International Sales Manager Fernando Krijer commented, "We are pleased and very much looking forward to working together with Lightronics Inc." he added, "They are a tremendous complement to our existing portfolio". www.lt-light.com French loudspeaker manufacturer L-Acoustics have announced the acquisition of L-Acoustics US. Despite this transfer of ownership, there will be no difference to the day-to-day operation in North America and the change will be completely transparent to L-Acoustics US' client base. Domestic sales and support-related issues continue to be handled by the office in Oxnard, California, and all current personnel remain onboard. The acquisition has also seen a number of promotions at the company. Paul Freudenberg, formerly the director of sales for L-Acoustics US, now assumes additional responsibilities as vice-president of sales and marketing for L-Acoustics US while Diane Monet also takes on more responsibility as she moves into the capacity of vice-president of finance and administration. Bernie Broderick remains the office's primary technical contact under his new title, head of technical support. www.l-acoustics.com D.A.S. Audio have opened a factory sales and support office in Germany. Strategically located near the international freight centers, the Moerfelden-Walldorf office of D.A.S. Audio Deutschland will provide German clients with a direct link to the factory and its products.D.A.S. Audio Deutschland, Frankfurter Stra§e 17, 64546 Moerfelden-Walldorf, Germany; Tel. +49 6105967610 www.dasaudio.com Gemini have welcomed the addition of Jeff Handis to their team in the newly-created position of Director of National Sales. Handis, a graduate of Boston University with a degree in marketing, has previously held various sales management positions for 11 years at Technics / Panasonic and most recently as National Sales Manager for Samsung Pro A/V. Handis' 25 years of experience and savvy in various segments of the consumer electronics industry will be a valuable asset to the Gemini team. www.geminidj.com Loud Technologies have appointed Impact EvŽnement as the new distributors of the EAW and EAW Commercial brands in France with immediate effect whilst Executive Audio take on the brands in the United Arab Emirates. Executive Audio is a newly-formed distribution company run by industry veteran Hans Freytag and will be headquartered in the UK with offices in Beirut. Tropical Music Export Enterprises, based in Miami, have become distributors for EAW products in the Caribbean and Central American markets. Meanwhile, Loud have also announced the recent appointment of Steve Badham to the position of UK sales manager for the EAW and EAW Commercial brands whilst Jim Shaw has been appointed to the position of Director of Operations. "I am confident that Jim will be successful in his new position as Director of Operations with LOUD," commented Shawn Powers, Senior Vice-President of Operations. "His extensive experience in management will be a major addition for the team. We welcome him and look forward to great things." www.loudtechinc.com Mr. Sushil S. John has been appointed to the new position of Country Head-India for the Harman Pro Group. "I'm excited to be able to represent the interests of all Harman Pro Group brands in India," says John. "There is nearly unlimited potential for growth in this market and I am very proud to now be a part of the Harman Pro team." www.harmanproaudio.com Vari-Lite have taken on Todd Kessler to oversee additional growth and development of the company's product training program. Expansion of the program will help ensure that the market is staffed with qualified technicians and will allow authorised Vari-Lite dealers to provide greater product support for end users. www.vari-lite.com Meyer Sound have announced the addition of veteran system tech/audio engineer Steve Bush as a Senior Technical Support Representative. Bush will provide problem-solving and consulting services to Meyer Sound's customers. Meanwhile Rachel Archibald has been promoted to the position of Director of Marketing for Meyer Sound whilst the addition of touring sound veteran Don Pearson to its staff of educational trainers as a Technical Seminar Instructor has also been unveiled. The addition of Pearson comes hot on the heels of the completion of a state-of-the-art 57-seat training theatre at Meyer Sound's Berkeley, California headquarters. www.meyersound.com Eric Mueller has joined Clay Paky America as regional sales manager for the central and eastern US. With the recent restructuring of the dealer and distribution arrangements for Clay Paky products on the East Coast, Mueller will be the face of Clay Paky across a significant portion of the country. www.claypakyamerica.com Digigram have announced the appointment of five new European distributors. The new partners will guarantee sales, consulting, and support for Digigram's entire product range in their respective vertical markets. The distributors are as follows: Apex n.v. headquartered in Paal-Beringen (will serve Belgium and Luxembourg), Techno Bulgaria, headquartered in Sofia (Bulgaria), Media Utilities B.V. headquartered in Naarden (Netherlands), Audio Media Professional AS of Oslo (Norway) and Portela Associados Novas Tecnologias Lda. (Portugal). In other Digigram news, Joe Tan has been appointed to the position of regional sales manager for the Asia / Pacific region. Based in the offices of Digigram's sales subsidiary in Singapore, Digigram Asia Pte Ltd., Joe's mission is to further develop Digigram's sales throughout the region. www.digigram.com John Lethbridge, who has been handling sales in the Middle East for Pulsar for the past three years, will be expanding his role within the Pulsar sales team with immediate effect. John will be supporting Technical Sales Manager, Snowy Johnson and Sales Manager, Jon Petts in the U.K. and Head of Sales and Marketing, Andy Graves in certain overseas territories. www.pulsarlight.com After 10 years of trading, CGA Integration Limited (CGA) is the new name for Chris Gunton Associates Limited. Specialists in the design and installation of sound, light and video - the new name reflects the company's growing position in the entertainment technology industry. www.cga-integration.co.uk Projected Image Digital have been appointed as the exclusive re-seller for High End System's revolutionary Catalyst digital media server software as well as an authorised Apple Limited reseller. High End System's UK sales director David Linger comments: "PID was the obvious choice for us for Catalyst in the UK. Their experience in the digital market is unsurpassed, and the support and training on the product has already proved invaluable." www.projectedimagedigital.com Peter Nesbitt has joined AC Lighting's UK Sales department as lighting sales executive, providing office and in the field support for the company's expanding range of leading lighting brands. . www.aclighting.com Audio-Technica Ltd has announced the promotion to its Board of Directors of Tony Cooper as UK sales director and Adrian Rooke, as European finance director. The expansion of the Board of Directors comes towards the end of a year that has seen considerable growth of the company's structure. Other appointments to the Board of Directors include Toshiyuki Hatakenaka and Shigeru Uzawa, representing two manufacturing divisions of the Corporation in Japan. www.audio-technica.co.uk A persistent multi-million dollar back-order has seen Peavey draft another 140 employees into its manufacturing facilities surrounding Meridian, Mississippi. Citing strong demand for its recently introduced high-end signature series electric guitars, JSX amplifier and moulded speakers as the primary cause for the back order position, company founder, Hartley Peavey, said, "I'm pleased that, in spite of the flood of Chinese made products into world markets, our US operations are still competitive. It's a good feeling to be able to expand our workforce here at home." www.peavey.com Shure Incorporated has appointed Jose A. Rivas as regional sales manager for its International Americas Business Unit. In his new role, Rivas will be responsible for sales in Mexico, Canada, and South America. He will be stationed at Shure's corporate headquarters facility in Niles, Illinois. Most recently, Rivas was Latin America and Caribbean Sales Manager for all brands owned by Telex Communications, Inc. www.shure.com Proel has strengthened its brand with the appointment of Mauro Goia as marketing manager. Besides his wide market knowledge, Goia has gained extensive international experience working for several years with Roland. Says Goia: "In the last few years Proel has been showing a considerable growth in both its turnover and production. We therefore need to set up a clear and global communication together with some innovative marketing strategies." www.proelgroup.com Shuttlesound has appointed Jason Kelly as its new sales consultant. Kelly will be responsible for all UK sales of both product portfolios to end-users and to resellers. www.shuttlesound.com Edinburgh based lighting specialist Black Light have been appointed a distributor for Strand Lighting equipment in Scotland. Meanwhile Strand Lighting have announced two new appointments - Peter Sherrington returns after an 18-month leave whilst in Germany, Walter Thomsen is also returning to Strand to manage sales in Southern Germany. He will also be responsible for Austria and Switzerland. www.black-light.com www.strandlighting.com Adamson have appointed Eastern Acoustic Development (EAD) as exclusive distributor for the Adamson brand in Hong Kong and China. Eastern Acoustic Development, with head offices based in Tsuen Wan, Hong Kong, was established in 1997 and is involved in public communication, audio/video system engineering and international trade business and are sole distributors in the region for the likes of Allen & Heath, Lab.gruppen and RCF. www.adamsonproaudio.com Total Fabrications have announced that Neil Darracott has stepped down from his position as the company's technical director. Darracott has worked within TFL for over 5 years. www.totalfabs.com Aviom Inc. have announced the appointment of Production Audio Services as its new distributor for Australia. The agreement is expected to significantly strengthen distribution of Aviom's products to all areas of the Southeast Pacific region. www.aviom.com Light-Turn-Move has added another member to their steadily growing team, with Jenny Hobday joining as Sales Administrator. www.liftturnmove.co.uk The death of Luigi Borsani, founder of Italian lighting control manufacturer ERC Elettro Radio Costruzioni S.p.A. was announced in Italy just before Christmas 2004. Mr. Borsani, who was 76 years of age, continued to take an active part in the management of ERC and died from cancer after a short illness. ERC itself had recently celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. JBL Professional has named proven industry veteran Perry Calia as its new Director of Sales, Eastern Region. Celia will be responsible for managing all JBL Professional sales activities in the Eastern United States and the Caribbean. www.jblpro.com