Last word
come at the cost of the user experience that our customers now perceive, and that is precisely one of the fundamental elements on which we focus at. The human relationship between us and our customer will always be preserved. What are the dominant audio trends we are currently in the midst of? In a design perspective we notice a clear transition from the old-fashioned lowered ceilings to the more modern open ceiling structures. That is one of the reasons why we pay great attention to the aesthetic aspect of all our speakers.
Father and son AUDAC’s Tom and Patrick Van de Sande on the strong business culture that has helped this family-owned business be successful 35 years and counting Over the 35 years the company has been operating, what are some of the big changes in audio you’ve seen? An enormous emphasis has been placed on user experience in the broadest sense of the word. Where the installation and use of professional audio installations used to be a bit of a hassle, these processes have now all been streamlined. At AUDAC we’ve always strongly believed in providing the best possible user experience. That is why, for example, over three years ago we decided to throw out all our different product apps and start from scratch with one single app, AUDAC Touch. Over that period, has it become easier or harder for family-owned businesses in this industry? Our tremendous growth in recent years has certainly brought with it a number of challenges that we have had to overcome to continue to function as a family business. But I am proud to say that this strong growth has never changed our business culture. If we were to grow into a multinational, this could 58
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Tell me about a recent project that highlights the founding principles of AUDAC. A very intriguing project we did recently was Lava Centre in Iceland. Lava Centre is the largest volcano and earthquake exhibition centre in Europe. Together with our Icelandic partner Feris we’ve carried out the complete audio installation for the museum. The whole experience is designed to be interactive so visitors can feel exactly what a volcanic eruption is like. Naturally, the audio system had to be the perfect addition to immerse the visitor completely. Going forward, what areas of innovation are you looking to prioritise? There are two main pillars on which we will continue to focus: simplicity and controllability. By offering complete solutions in which each component is perfectly tailored to the other components, choosing the right installation is really child’s play. To demonstrate this, we have launched the Audio configurator on our website. Here you can easily enter the wishes and characteristics of the room and then the configurator will determine which set of solutions are the perfect fit for your project. In what ways are you taking action on issues with energy efficiency/environmental concerns? Already in the design process of our hardware we put a strong focus on sustainability. For example our amplifiers have such a long life cycle and are often never switched off. That is why all AUDAC amplifiers use Class D technology and switching mode power supply’s with smart standby modes to reduce power wastage. As a result a substantial amount of our products are Energy Star labelled. We have already taken enormous steps forward over the past year to ensure that the amount of plastic in our packaging is minimised. Tom Van de Sande is CEO of PVS; Patrick Van de Sande is founder and former CEO of PVS www.audac.eu