AWE managing director Stuart Tickle was in a positive mood at an event to welcome visitors to the company’s new home – Alexander House in Epsom. Citing CEDIA statistics predicting growth for the industry he said: “Our industry is going to grow – it’s going to go mainstream,” adding “2014 will be the highest turnover in our history.”
It is these positive predictions that encouraged the company to combine its two previous offices in a larger facility. AWE’s new home has space for its 25 team members, along with a commercial showcase area, a residential show apartment, a large warehouse, and a soon-to-be-completed home cinema/audio demo room.
Tickle explained that it was important to show a fully integrated environment as “we don’t have long to make an impact when speaking to designers, architects and consumers. The way to get them to understand is to show them.”
The whole building is controlled by URC integrated with Philips Dynalite lighting control. Lighting throughout the building is LED 5.5W fully dimmable LED lights, all programmable with touchpanel control.
“I believe this is set up to be the best showcase because of the different types of technology we’re integrating.”
LG, Panasonic and Samsung screens are also on display, along with audio equipment from Kef, Pioneer, Yamaha and Marantz.
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AWE and HD Connectivity also used the event to announce a joint training and sales collaboration to offer HDanywhere 4K HDMI distribution and URC Control products to the UK custom installation channel.
Tickle explained: “The fact that URC training is free to any interested integrators and there is no minimum initial hardware order, is attracting a lot of interest from installers who want to offer something that sets them apart from the rest. By teaming up with HD Connectivity, we are able to reach a wider audience with our URC training and Complete Control product line-up. The collaboration also allows us to offer our dealers a high-quality HD video distribution product. It took us a long time to settle on the right partner, but after evaluating HDanywhere’s latest Modular system and getting to know the team, the decision was easy.”
With around 200 installers due to visit the new HQ in the next few days, plans for event-based training, including the first CEDIA CPD event in May, and the home cinema room due to open in the next few months, Tickle is keen for Alexander House to be a hub for the industry.
“This move has been a significant step – it’s a major part of our company development. We’ve got the infrastructure to cope for the next ten-plus years,” he concluded.
