All Articles Tagged Ce Pro 100 Summit

Jason Knott | 03/19 05:45 AM, 0 Comments

The deadline to submit entries for the 2012 CE Pro 100 has been extended to March 26. The CE Pro 100 is an annual list of the largest custom electronics integrators in the United States. It was first launched in 1998 and has showcased some of the industry’s finest companies. CE Pro 100 companies will be featured in the May issue of CE Pro and on cepro.com. Entrants will be eligible to attend the CE Pro 100 Summit, which is moving to the Houston Westin Galleria from Nov. 6-8, 2012.… View this story

Jason Knott | 12/30 10:15 AM, 5 Comments

What will you be doing on Election Day 2012? Many of the nation's largest integrators will be watching the results of the predicted Rick Santorum landslide in Houston as part of the CE Pro 100 Summit. Following on the heels of its most successful event to date, the CE Pro 100 Summit has announced plans to move the event to Houston in 2012. Slated for November 6-8 at the Westin Galleria, the event will include a special election results viewing party as part of the kick-off reception. The new central… View this story

Jason Knott | 11/30 06:51 AM, 5 Comments

During the CE Pro 100 Summit, David Frangioni of Audio One recalled a story when one of his technicians waited a week on a jobsite for a celebrity because he did not have the client's iTunes password. "The client wanted everything to be working perfectly when he arrived home, which meant we needed to turn on the Apple TV and check it," he recalls. "But because we didn't have the client's iTunes password, we couldn't check the system." The story started a debate among attendees: Who should buy the apps… View this story

Jason Knott | 11/30 06:33 AM, 1 Comment

While “apps” has become a dirty word for many integrators who see the proliferation of low-cost, non-integrated systems as a threat to their businesses, one integrator is embracing them. David Frangioni, owner of Miami-based Audio One, is embracing the app concept in his system designs and converting its client portal into a downloadable app for customers. Audio One has developed high-end integrated Crestron systems with interfaces that mimic the look of Apple apps. Clients can drag and point on the panels just like they would on their smartphone or tablet.… View this story

Jason Knott | 11/23 09:14 AM, 1 Comment

SpeakerCraft president Jeremy Burkhardt wasn't physically in attendance at the CE Pro 100 Summit, but he still managed to lead the concluding session. With help from Nick Berry, SpeakerCraft's VP of marketing, a video from Burkhardt was played that challenged dealers to keep moving their businesses forward. With the assistance of a caricature drawing of Burkhardt as his backup (along with an open bar), Berry led the room in roundtable discussions to come up with the next big idea for the industry and for his company. Some of the ideas… View this story

Jason Knott | 11/22 07:18 AM, 0 Comments

We've said it before, but we'll say it again: LED lighting is going to be big business for integrators. Now, there's proof. Jim Sweeney, partner at Eco-Tronics, participated in an "illuminating" panel discussion at the CE Pro 100 Summit about LED lighting. Sweeney offered multiple real-world examples of how he is saving retrofit clients money by simply replacing their incandescent bulbs with LEDs. The numbers are staggering. And once Eco-Tronics is in the home or business, it opens the door for control and A/V installations. The primary sales tool used… View this story

Jason Knott | 11/21 09:30 AM, 1 Comment

Starting from $0 in recurring monthly revenue (RMR) in 2003, Pat Egan of Select Security in central Pennsylvania now makes $400,000 per month from contracts in alarm monitoring, service and inspection. “That’s a whole lot of money in the bank before I do a single installation,” says Egan, who was among a panel of RMR high achievers at the CE Pro 100 Summit. Alex Dunn, CEO of Vivint, and Tim McKinney, group director of residential Custom Home Services for ADT, were the other panelists. The information from the panel was… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 11/18 08:59 AM, 0 Comments

Just One Touch opened a new Video & Audio Center in Lawndale, Calif., earlier this month in a star-studded affair that drew the mayor and other city officials; members of the press including the BBC, ABC, CE Pro and the L.A. Times; vendor representatives including Sony president Phil Molyneux; and a celebrity or two. The “South Bay Superstore” is the fourth Southern California venue for Just One Touch, the No. 3 dealer in the CE Pro 100 with $33 million in revenues from residential jobs in 2010. Hundreds of people… View this story

Jason Knott | 11/18 06:50 AM, 0 Comments

Audio Video Design (AVD), for many reasons, adds ihiji to all projects over $15,000 and Nuage Nine on all projects with larger, more complex control systems. Each system gets an IP-enabled power management product, such as Panamax Bluebolt. A one-year subscription is added based on the size and complexity of the system. The costs are added to the overall cost of the project. The merits of the program are being discussed during the Best Business Practices Roundtables at the CE Pro 100 Summit in Miami. "We justify this on the… View this story

Jason Knott | 11/17 08:41 AM, 1 Comment

Every integrator faces the challenge of how to keep great employees. At the same time, most CE pros want to devise a profitable exit strategy for their business. Gary Nedelisky, owner of CE Pro 100 company Quadrant Systems, and his wife and VP, Kathleen Dintruff, came up with a great way to solve both situations in one fell swoop. The duo's strategy is being discussed at the CE Pro 100 Summit Best Practices Roundtable in Miami. "As we worked on our estate planning and looked at what will happen to… View this story