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ADVERTORIAL
P R O J E C T I O N L I G H T S & S TA G I N G N E W S
NEWS
The Reinvention of PR Lighting
Bold New Restructuring Leads To New Approaches, Advanced Products
Steve Tulk
Providing the leading edge of LED and Plasma
technology. Creating products featuring
maximum light output in smaller and
more efficient bodies. Having all professionallevel
products come standard with RDM. Wireless
DMX. Streaming ACN. Expansion into the
architectural market.
It’s all part of embarking on an aggressive
development to expand PR’s current horizons
and add new ones.
So if you think you know PR Lighting,
you need a new introduction, because while
they’ve always enjoyed an enviable level of
worldwide success, they realized that they
could be more. And admirably, the management
team did not back down at the challenges
any organization faces when implementing
serious changes.
“We knew we needed to adapt quicker to
the fast-paced changing market, and so we
made fundamental changes to ensure we attain
that goal, ” says Ernie Armas, international
sales director. “We felt that despite operating
in the same manner for a few years and
enjoying success, we needed to reassess our
position in the market and develop new approaches.”
He adds that while they’ve already
produced more advanced products of better
quality featuring the newest technology,
they’ve still been successful at maintaining
their price competitiveness. “Our customers
have voiced their appreciation and satisfaction
with our new products, and we can’t wait
until they see what else is coming out.”
The biggest change has a name, and it
is Steve Tulk. While Tulk has been an integral
part of PR’s R&D for the past nine years, he
was not managing the department. “We felt
we needed some new leadership in the management
of our R&D department, and it was
clear that Steve [Tulk] was the perfect man for
the job! We promoted him to vice-president
of R&D, and he brings not only his extensive
technical knowledge but also his keen understanding
of the Chinese culture and how to
implement our goals into the western industry.”
R&D, PR Style
“The R&D process at PR has been greatly
improved,” Tulk says. “Drastic changes have
been made in our processes, and progress
can be seen with everything that is coming
out of our warehouse.” First, he streamlined
the process and pared down the staff, keeping
only the very best. Then he added more
talent and expanded the program from 20 to
47 people. “This allows us to concentrate on
a larger quantity of product and also focus
on the details necessary to make the best
quality product.”
Although PR has always had an ISO-9000
type of system in place, now it’s significantly
refined. “In the past, R&D and Production Engineering
have always worked separately. I
have always thought R&D needed to maintain
more influence over the product once
it was in production. This is being addressed
now and is part of an ongoing process improvement
effort.”
PR has spent the last year and a half restructuring
the company to devise a comprehensive
strategy that will take them to the
next level. Tulk says that they will be more
technology-driven and quality-minded than
ever before. “We will shift our focus to offer
something more than the competition has
to make our product more attractive to the
lighting professional.”
The creative and financial foundation
that PR has achieved is beyond reproach —
something few other companies can say.
“The professional can count on the fact
that PR is a solid company with a solid past,”
Tulk says. “It has been in business for 25
years, is privately owned, and is self-funded
with no bank debt. We are large enough to
make bold moves, but are still small enough
to have a personal interest in customer requirements
and needs. I will personally take
calls and e-mails any time of the day or night
within reason to deal with any customer issues.”
Tulk credits the management team for
making a bold decision a few years ago to
look inward and really scrutinize the company’s
strengths and weaknesses, noting how
the commitment to continuous improvement
has led to a stronger, more cohesive
company.
Armas earnestly admits another key part
of this equation that is needed: public relations.
“We have a real challenge in educating
our customers about what sets PR far apart
from other Chinese manufacturers. We’re
fighting against the stereotype that massproduced,
high quality products cannot be
made here, and that is far from our reality.
We’ve achieved unsurpassed, reliable products
and backed it up with customer support
that is beyond reproach.” Armas adds that
they are glad they revisited the company’s
longtime goals and plan to achieve new levels
of success in providing lighting professionals
with amazing products at great prices.
“Our vision for the future is reasserted, and
we have a renewed enthusiasm.
“Going forward, our emphasis will be on
designed-in quality so it is repeatable and
reliable,” Tulk adds. “Proper product testing
by industry professionals is very high on
my list. Field serviceability is another strong
point with me. We will break the mold on
perceptions of products made in China and
prove that PR can make the best professional
lighting products in the world.”
Q&A with Steve Tulk
Steve Tulk might be one of the most influential
people in the industry that you’ve never
heard of. You’ve likely used technology or seen
shows using technology which he had a hand
in designing. If you haven’t, then there’s a good
chance that you will. He was one of the first
employees of the company that became High
End Systems. For much of the 18 years he spent
working at High End, he was the right hand
man to the head of research and development,
Richard Belliveau. Tulk designed much of the
electronic circuitry in the company’s most successful
products, including Laser Chorus, Color
Pro, F-100 smoke generators, Intellabeam and
more. He was also the main engineering focal
point between R&D, Manufacturing and Customer
Service. In 2000, he made a bold decision
to leave the company and go to work for
PR Lighting.
Q Why did you decide to go to work for PR
Lighting?
A I had been asked to team up with some
other people at High End to do an OEM “China
Project” where we would source finished products
and parts from China. After a trip or two
there, I saw a huge potential for doing anything
China-related. Eventually I met the PR people
and was really quite impressed. Then one of
them threw out a “Why don’t you come work
for us?” and I jumped at it.
Q Can you give us a sense of how far the
company has come since you arrived?
A When I joined PR in 2002, the company was
already well-established as an OEM and also as
a distributor and manufacturer selling into the
Chinese market. They mostly made scanners
and small disco products then. Every product
they did, though, had a distinctive innovative
twist to them. They wanted to break the Chinese
mold and be the first Chinese company
to launch their own brand of moving heads. In
addition to me, they hired Paul Dodd, and we
worked well as a team to show them the path
to new, innovative products.
Q How has the company changed since
your early days?
A There were roughly 200 people in the
company when I joined them. When I first
visited them in 2000, the operation consisted
of three buildings. Within a year they
built two more buildings to house a metal
fabrication facility and a warehouse. By
2002, they were in the process of securing
some land to build a new factory. So at the
end of 2006, we moved into this new factory,
which is much bigger than the first
one, and that’s where we are today. There is
also room to build one larger factory building
when it’s needed. Right now the staff is
between 600 to 700 people but we hope will
increase those numbers with our new plans.
Q Are you working on more implementation
of Remote Device Management
(RDM) and other new protocols and technology?
A Currently the entire XL range and XLED
range of products have RDM. In fact, we have
had RDM for several years. In the near future
we’ll introduce Streaming ACN. On LEDs, we
were among the first and are now poised to
retake the lead. We now have a firm plan in
place to produce a range of LED products
that will equal or beat the competition.
Q Describe how the process of creating
new products has changed.
A In the past, the criteria for product design
was driven more from asking ourselves
what part of the market don’t we have that
others do have, and it was easy to sell on
those factors because of China’s price advantage.
But you can’t just keep doing that —
for one thing, it’s not interesting! [Laughs].
So we restructured and devised a bold strategy
to get to the next level. Looking ahead,
we’ll be more technology-driven. We now
question every stage, every procedure and
ensure that we try different approaches —
whatever it takes to make our products the
best.
PR Lighting LTD.
1582 Xingye Avenue, Nancun, Panyu, Guangzhou, China 511442
Tel.:+86 020 39952379 Fax.:+86 020 39952330 Email: info@pr-lighting.net
www.pr-lighting.com
2011 MAY PLSN
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