Sound & Communications February 2009 Issue

NEWSLETTERCADAC ACQUIRED BY SOUNDKING GROUPSoundking Group Company Ltd. (Ningbo, China; www.soundking.com/en/enindex.php) has confirmed itsacquisition of the assets, trademarks and intellectual property of Cadac Electronics plc (Bedfordshire,United Kingdom; www.cadac-sound.com), effective immediately. The announcement was made by XiangguiWang, Soundking’s President and Founder. Under the ownership of Soundking Group, all 25 Cadacemployees are being retained, with R&D and production continuing to be based in the UK. According toWang, “I am [pleased] that I have been able to bring the…Cadac brand and its…products into the SoundkingGroup. The Cadac R&D team will form the European core of Soundking Group’s global R&D effort,enabling us to draw on Cadac’s high level of expertise in analog and digital audio and translate this intonew products across the Group.”Bob Thomas, who has been appointed General Manager of the new operating company, Cadac HoldingsLtd., commented, “Now that we have gotten through this period, the future looks extremely bright, andwe will be working quickly to re-establish Cadac in its core markets. Soundking Group is investing $6million in Cadac and in new product development….For Cadac, the great news is that now that we havethe Soundking Group’s financial backing, we will be able to accelerate that program and, in particular,put the S-Digital console back on schedule. Our digital R&D team is focused on starting production inthe Summer of 2009.”In our July 2008 NEWSLETTER, Sound & Communications had reported that the directors of CadacElectronics had placed the company into administration, following a falloff in anticipated sales of analogproducts.EVENT PARTNERS POSTPONE ISMEA 2009Integrated Systems Events, LLC, and UBMI UAE Jersey Limited (formerly CMPi UAE Jersey Limited)have postponed the inaugural Integrated Systems Middle East Africa (ISMEA; www.is-mea.org) tradeshow, originally scheduled for March 23 and 24 at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Center (ADNEC).“We had a tremendous response from the AV and electronic systems industry to our plans to launch anevent in this region,” remarked Mike Blackman, Managing Director, Integrated Systems Events. “However,in light of trading conditions, some of our key exhibitors had raised concerns about the timing ofthe event. We have always listened closely to the advice of our industry and tried to tailor our events tosuit its needs, and we believe that postponement is the best option for all of us at this time.”In related news, InfoComm India 2009, scheduled to be held in March in Mumbai, has been cancelledamid security concerns expressed by the exhibiting companies following the November terrorist attacksin the city.ITSENCLOSURES FORGES PARTNERSHIP WITH INGRAM MICROITSENCLOSURES (Mt. Pleasant PA; www.itsenclosures.com) has forged a partnership with Ingram Micro,Inc. (Santa Ana CA; www.ingrammicro.com), to distribute a complete product line of digital signageLCD enclosures. ITSENCLOSURES will be the first large-format display enclosures supplier for IngramMicro. According to the principals, ITSENCLOSURES products will enhance the value of Ingram Micro’sDigital Signage Division by addressing channel partners’ need to have access to custom and standarddigital signage LCD enclosures.According to Kevin Prewett, Vice President, Digital Signage Division and Vendor Management, IngramMicro US, digital signage is becoming standard use in many vertical markets, citing in particular baseballstadiums, railroads, coffee shops, airports, retail outlets and entertainment parks. “There’s no questionthat opportunity is out there,” he said, “and with this new line of standard and custom ruggedizedLCD enclosures, our channel partners will be able to better address market demands and protect andpreserve their clients’ digital signage investments.”COMPILED BY DAN FERRISI AND DAVID A. SILVERMAN10Sound & Communicationswww.soundandcommunications.com