'The UK is a seismic centre for touring and installation': L-Acoustics' new UK sales team talk plans for 2018
L-Acoustics has just assembled a brand new, purpose-built team with the sole purpose of taking on the ‘seismic UK market’. In a PSNEurope exclusive, we find out what its goals are for the year ahead and why now was the right time to launch…
Last month, French loudspeaker specialist L-Acoustics announced the assembly of a purpose-built sales and application team to focus specifically on the UK market. The new unit is comprised of sales manager Paul McMullan, who has been with the company since 2016, as well as new team members Sergey Becker, application engineer, touring, and Jeff Woodford, application engineer, install. The team will also receive support from L-Acoustics’ Marcoussis HQ, with Nathalie Prade in sales support and Alex Linn in customer service.
Commenting at the time of launch on the creation of the team, Jochen Frohn, LAcoustics director of business development, said: “The UK is a seismic centre for both the touring and installation markets and is recognised for its cutting edge performing arts centres. It is also home to many of the globe’s most important consultancies. As such, it is a key territory for us, which is why we made the decision to strengthen the UK team with the addition of Sergey and Jeff, both experienced application engineers whose extensive knowledge will help to expand the brand in the robust UK touring and install markets.”
Becker has spent almost 20 years designing and implementing PA systems and their control infrastructure, and is also an experienced FOH and monitor engineer. He joins the company from Delta Sound, where he worked on high profile events such as the Olympics and Commonwealth Games.
Woodford, who joins from RG Jones Sound Engineering, will be supporting the installation side of the company’s business, where he will put to use his skills as a system designer, project manager and installation engineer. ”Having two talented engineers with extensive real-world experience on the team will allow L-Acoustics to give consummate support to our dynamic UK partners,” added Tony Szabo, head of application, touring at L-Acoustics. “I’m confident that adding Jeff and Sergey to our UK-dedicated team will be a strong factor in the continued growth of the L-Acoustics brand.”
PSNEurope caught up with McMullan to find out more about the L-Acoustics UK team and what its aims are for 2018 and beyond…
Why was now the right time to create this UK team?
L-Acoustics is a highly represented brand in the touring and installation markets, with many of the UK’s largest rental companies stocking vast quantities of our products and installation contractors specifying more and more venues with our systems.
As such, it is a key territory for us, which is growing year-on-year, so we have strengthened the UK team with experienced application engineers whose extensive knowledge will help to support our current users, expand the brand into growing sectors and introduce the innovative technologies we are bringing to the market in the form of L-ISA immersive and the P1 networked audio processor.
What will be its primary objectives?
The primary role of the application engineers is to support clients who are using and specifying our products in the rental and installation markets. This support includes assistance with system design and implementation, on and off-site support, system calibration and training.
The application engineers present regular training courses in partnership with our certified providers. The training includes the fundamentals of system design, using our Soundvision acoustic simulation software, LA Network Manager Control and Monitoring Software and how to use our rigging systems.
The application engineers alongside the sales and customer service personnel provides our UK and Ireland customers with the one to one support they need for all aspects of L-Acoustics related business. It’s our job to build strong, long-lasting relationships in the UK and Ireland.
What are the biggest areas of opportunity for L-Acoustics in the UK?
The implementation of our L-ISA immersive sound systems for Live, Creative and Private applications is opening up a whole new way of experiencing music and sound and providing the opportunity for us to promote our brand’s current products and this new technology.
Both Sergey and Jeff join from prestigious UK companies. How valuable will their experience in the field be to the team?
Having dedicated touring and installation engineers, both with solid record of supporting prestigious projects, means we can provide the best support where needed and build relationships with our valued clients.
Are there any specific sectors that you’ll be looking to target?
Our Syva colinear source loudspeaker system will provide us with an opportunity to increase traction in the high end corporate AV rental market.
The installation market is a growing sector for L-Acoustics in the UK; we are seeing year on year increase in this area, which is a key reason for the addition of a dedicated application engineer for installation.
On the touring and special events side, we are introducing L-ISA Live to as many engineers as possible and showing that this innovative technology is driving a fundamental change in the way we experience shows.
What do you consider to be the biggest challenges facing the UK market?
Educating enough engineers to meet the growing demands for our products is possibly the biggest challenge we face.
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Source: mi-pro.co.uk
