Console manufacturer Innovason of Plougoumelen, France, announces that it was dissolved on November 2 in the wake of a lengthy restructuring process, and that Lawo AG now owns all Innovason product and trademark rights. Lawo will henceforth manage the Innovason brand from Lawo’s headquarters in Rastatt, Germany.
The move follows Lawo’s acquisition of Innovason’s majority shareholding in April 2008, and marks the end of a juridical process that resulted in the liquidation of Innovason SAS.
According to Marcel Babazadeh, Innovason international sales director: “It’s the best of both worlds. Now that the Innovason products have become part of the range offered by Lawo in Rastatt, it means that the continuity of the brand is guaranteed. At the same time it benefits from everything that Lawo has to offer with its more than 40 years of experience in professional audio technology.
“Furthermore, Lawo is committed to maintaining the heritage and history of Innovason,” Babazadeh continues. “Our focus for the future is on the continued development of the Eclipse platform. The difference is that we will be able to pursue this development with more resources available to us than ever before, which is fantastic news. It is the ideal climate in which to nurture and perpetuate the pioneering spirit that has characterized Innovason products since the beginning.”
A number of former Innovason employees will take over responsibility within the new structure at Lawo, including Eclipse developer Hervé de Caro, who is now product manager for Eclipse; Nicolas Gozdowski, who will continue in his role as service engineer; Benoit Quiniou in R&D; and Babazadeh, who remains the international sales director.
“I have believed in the brand from the beginning,” says Lawo CEO Philipp Lawo. “I admire innovation, which has always been a driving force for the development of Innovason products. However, despite Lawo’s intervention in 2008, the company was still not able to realize its full potential. Now that the brand is fully integrated into the Lawo structure, I am confident that together we can achieve success.
“I’m also delighted to welcome the new colleagues on board, all now key members of the Lawo team responsible for Innovason. It is the end of an era for Innovason in its former structure, but the dawning of a new chapter of innovations. We’re all looking forward to a new and promising future in the live sound market together.”
For more information, visit www.lawo.de and www.innovason.com.
