At the announcement of Music Group’s purchase of Turbosound were (l-r): Costa Lakoumentas, senior vice president, Music Group; Simon Blackwood, managing director, Turbosound; Uli Behringer, founder and CEO, Music Group; and Dom Harter, sales director, Turbosound.
By Clive Young. Las Vegas, NV (June 13, 2012)—On the eve of InfoComm, Music Group announced it has acquired UK loudspeaker manufacturer Turbosound. Speaking to Pro Sound News, Music Group senior vice president Costa Lakoumentas explained, “We feel that Turbo has way more in the way of people, technology and history than it is currently reaping the rewards of today. It’s almost non-existent in the U.S., and we aim to change that and invest in it.”
With the move, Music Group adds the West Sussex, England-based manufacturer to its pro audio line-up, which also includes Midas, Klark-Teknik and Behringer. Lakoumentas noted that the parent company began searching for an appropriate pro loudspeaker manufacturer roughly around the same time that it acquired Midas, and that acquiring the console company helped in a number of ways to pave the way for the Turbosound purchase.
“We slowly got to know the Turbosound team through our Midas contacts, which facilitated things to the point where we reached the comfort level where we thought this is the right combination for us,” he said. “It was very important that other players like Turbosound saw how we integrated Midas into the company. We did not do what several others have done before us, which is to buy a company and then cut it off at the knees. We bought it, we invested in the people and the business, and you can see the results. As an example, when we launched the Midas Pro2 this past December, we sold more digital consoles that month than the whole history of Midas.”
Turbosound’s heritage across three decades hews tightly to its being a mainstay in the UK pro audio industry, having earned a trio of Queen’s Awards over the years, including for Innovation in 2012. When Music Group acquired Midas, another pro audio manufacturer with deep roots in the UK, the console company eventually moved its manufacturing to China, though Music Group did create a new Center of Engineering Excellence in Manchester, UK for the company.
Asked if the manufacture of Turbosound loudspeakers might also be heading to the Far East, Lakoumentas remarked, “What we’re looking for is ways to build this brand to the absolute pinnacle of the loudspeaker business—that’s it. Now, whether that means manufactured in China or the UK, that’s really less important to us than really executing on the equity of the brand. We want to unlock that equity…and will reveal more of our plans over the next few days.” In a statement, Music Group noted, “It is expected that Turbosound will benefit from Music Group’s extensive infrastructure while retaining [its] own manufacturing, sales, marketing and distribution network worldwide.”
Music Group founder and CEO Uli Behringer remarked in the statement, “Turbosound has stood out as the ideal match because of its extensive IP, sterling reputation and first-class team of people. I am very proud to welcome Simon Blackwood and his team to our family.” Turbosound managing director Simon Blackwood added, “With the incredible people and resources of the Music Group behind us, I am thrilled to enter a new era of unprecedented growth.”
Music Group
www.music-group.com
Turbosound
www.turbosound.com
