All Articles Tagged Nortek

Julie Jacobson | 05/21 04:38 PM, 1 Comment

Core Brands, LLC, part of the Technology Solutions Group of Nortek, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK) will launch a line of wireless audio products later this year using technology from Eleven Engineering. Core Brands – parent of audio subsidiaries Niles, Sunfire, SpeakerCraft, Aton and Proficient Audio – has never really had a coherent wireless audio strategy. Speaker manufacturers SpeakerCraft and Proficient have toyed with multiroom solutions but their Synergi and Zero products, respectively, were put on hold. Core Brands officials have not yet been reached for comment, but a press release indicates… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 05/10 12:34 PM, 0 Comments

Security and home automation helped the first quarter for Nortek Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK), which just released its financial results for the three months ended March 30, 2013. With revenues of more than $2 billion, Nortek does not break out the financials of each sector, but the company did note, “Technology Solutions Segments Achieve Double-Digit Sales Growth.” The Technology Solutions segment includes: Core Brands (Elan Home Systems, Niles, Panamax/Furman, Proficient, SpeakerCraft, Xantech) ProAV (Gefen, Magenta, TVOne) Security and Access Control (Linear, GTO, 2Gig, Secure Wireless) In the report, Nortek CEO Michael… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 02/22 04:55 PM, 30 Comments

UPDATE: The industry responds. See reactions below. Less than a year after leaving Nortek (Nasdaq: NTK) subsidiary SpeakerCraft, Jeremy Burkhardt has acquired Soundcast, a leading provider of wireless outdoor powered speakers. Burkhardt had sued Nortek in January of this year, alleging that the parent company threatens to enforce a non-compete that Burkhardt says is invalid. Joining CEO Burkhardt is longtime sidekick Jeff Francisco, who takes on the role of CTO, the same position he held at SpeakerCraft for about 24 years. Soundcast is both a sleeper and a leader in… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 02/15 09:39 AM, 2 Comments

Nortek Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK) is acquiring 2Gig Technologies, possibly the fastest-growing home automation and home security manufacturer in recent history, for about $135 million. 2Gig will be folded into Nortek subsidiary Linear LLC, provider of home security, garage door openers, commercial access controls, PERS and other electronic systems. In addition to Linear, Nortek owns the Core Brands of home technology companies including Elan Home Systems, SpeakerCraft, Niles Audio, Xantech and Panamax/Furman. The 2Gig acquisition comes about five months after 2Gig was acquired, along with its biggest customer Vivint, by the… View this story

Jason Knott | 01/22 04:04 PM, 0 Comments

Just in time for ISE 2013, Linear LLC has acquired certain wireless assets of Advanced Control Technologies (ACT), a leading developer of Z-Wave-enabled light switches and other home automation products. Linear, a leading manufacturer of home security, access control, and personal emergency reporting systems (PERS), will showcase its first line of Linear-branded Z-Wave products at Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) in a stand hosted by sister organization Core Brands (N62). Both groups are subsidiaries of Nortek Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK). Core Brands, the custom integration arm of Nortek, includes Elan Home Systems,… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/18 01:28 PM, 23 Comments

Former SpeakerCraft owner and president Jeremy Burkhardt has sued his former employers SpeakerCraft and Nortek over a non-compete agreement he signed in 2003 when Nortek bought his company. He says he’s itching to get back into the industry but Nortek is threatening to sue if he does. On facebook yesterday he posted, “I hope to tell you about the company we are buying real soon.” Presumably it’s an audio-related company or something else in the home technology arena, or he probably wouldn’t care about the non-compete. So ... what company… View this story

Jason Knott | 01/18 10:04 AM, 19 Comments

Jeremy Burkhardt, the colorful former owner and president of SpeakerCraft, is suing that company and parent company Nortek Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK), as well as Nortek subsidiary Linear LLC (formerly Linear Corp.), under which SpeakerCraft operated as a subsidiary. CE Pro learned of the suit from a Facebook post by Burkhardt today: Really exciting walking around CES and seeing so many friends. Also heard a lot of noise about Nortek and my non-compete I honored that as promised and it expired long ago. I’ll be back and they can’t stop me.… View this story

CE Pro Editors | 01/16 02:56 PM, 0 Comments

Core Brands, parent company of Aton, Elan, Niles, Panamax/Furman/BlueBolt, Proficient, SpeakerCraft, Sunfire, and Xantech, is on a hiring tear. Yesterday, the Nortek, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK) subsidiary named Mitch Witten as brand manager for Niles and Sunfire. Today, Core announces the appointment of Nanci Bergman as director of retail and Internet sales. Currently, many of the Core products are sold only through custom channels and not online or through retail outlets. In her new position, Bergman will be responsible for overseeing business development and spurring growth for the group’s 10 brands… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 11/26 11:31 AM, 0 Comments

Last week, Nortek, Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK) announced it would combine three audio/video subsidiaries into a new group called ProAV – Gefen, Magenta Research and TVOne. All three groups target industrial, broadcast, government and other commercial markets with high-performance A/V switchers. “Together, we have a really good chance of covering a lot of markets, a lot of ground,” says Gefen founder and president Hagai Gefen, who now leads the ProAV group. “Each one by itself is limited to technology for the vertical markets they target. Together, we can do more with… View this story

Jason Knott | 10/22 06:42 AM, 3 Comments

Saying it’s a "completely different ballgame" for the entire industry, Elan president Paul Starkey says traditional principles that “built the industry” (fat margin, limited distribution, reliable product) have been “sacrificed” by dealers, replaced by the need for compelling product and consumer leads from manufacturers. He even praises competitors Sonos, Control4 and SnapAV for their market approaches, and mentions that smaller manufacturers are bound to struggle. In a conversation with CE Pro, Starkey comments on a wide range of massive changes taking place in the industry that led to Nortek restructuring… View this story