All Articles Tagged Nortek

Julie Jacobson | 05/22 02:05 PM, 8 Comments

Jeremy Burkhardt once held a CEDIA press conference with half-naked ladies dancing about -- the same scantily clad ladies that shook their thangs at the SpeakerCraft booth on the show floor. He threw a circus-themed party with an AC/DC KISS tribute band comprised of dwarves. He had video games made that let us whack him on the head and launch him into a mine field. He had a lot of tattoos and he wasn't afraid to show them. For the CE Pro 100 Summit, Jeremy bought the big sponsorship which… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 05/22 09:43 AM, 19 Comments

The most colorful personality in the home systems business, Jeremy Burkhardt, is leaving SpeakerCraft, a subsidiary of Nortek Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK). Called a "retirement" by Nortek, Burkhardt's departure is effective May 25. Keith Marshall, president of SpeakerCraft spinoff Proficient Audio, has been named interim president. In a brief interview with CE Pro following the announcement, Burkhardt says, "I'll probably go off and travel, find another company I like and be a renegade again." And in what may be the understatement of the year, he notes, "I'm not so good at… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 04/30 09:40 AM, 52 Comments

SpeakerCraft -- a subsidiary of Nortek, Inc (Nasdaq: NTK). -- has abandoned its Nirv multiroom audio, video and control system after spending four years on the project. Nirv was to be a whole-house A/V system requiring only a single Cat 5 cable to deliver content and two-way control using CobraNet networking technology. While home automation was a key element of the original system, announced in 2009, SpeakerCraft backed off of that feature to focus on multiroom audio and video. “Nortek is working very hard to better integrate all of its… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 03/01 04:37 AM, 0 Comments

Some of the most iconic brands in the home technology industry will now be led by Sean Burke, the recently appointed group president, Technology Products Segment, for Nortek Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK). Filling a position vacated by long-time group president Grant Rummell, who retired this year, Burke will oversee several leading home-technology brands in the audio, video, home automation, HVAC, security and related categories. They include Nortek subsidiaries Elan Home Systems, Niles Audio and Xantech (collectively, The AVC Group), as well as Gefen, Linear, Omnimount, Panamax/Furman, SpeakerCraft and others. Burke comes… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 02/21 11:36 AM, 10 Comments

Savant Systems, best known for its high-end Apple-based home automation systems, has acquired LiteTouch, maker of lighting control solutions for residential and commercial venues. Savant bought LiteTouch from Nortek Inc. (Nasdaq: NTK), which had acquired the lighting company in 2007 and blended it into Panamax, maker of power management solutions. "We were the last major control player without its own lighting control," said Savant general manager Jim Carroll in an interview with CE Pro on Tuesday. Savant already offers its own automation systems (naturally) as well as its own audio/video… View this story

Jason Knott | 02/08 12:16 PM, 7 Comments

Duane Paulson, a 20-year veteran in the home security, home automation and custom electronics industries, has joined Linear LLC as senior vice president, product and market development. Linear is a flagship brand in the Nortek portfolio, which also includes The AVC Group (Elan Home Systems, Niles Audio and Xantech), SpeakerCraft, Panamax/Furman, Gefen, Omnimount, LiteTouch and other prominent CE companies. At Linear, Paulson will be responsible for technical services, marketing, and product and business development for several lines including security, CCTV, access control, garage door openers, PERS, structured wiring, wireless technology… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 01/27 10:13 AM, 2 Comments

Grant Rummell, the man responsible for amassing the largest collection of home technology manufacturers ever assembled, retired after 23 years at Nortek. Rummell most recently served as chairman and CEO of Nortek’s Linear subsidiary, running its stable of home technology brands. Among the impressive brands under his purview: Elan Home Systems, Gefen, Linear (security division), LiteTouch, Magenta Research, Niles Audio, OmniMount (recently merged with Ergotron, another mount manufacturer in the Linear home tech family), Panamax, Secure Wireless, SpeakerCraft, Sunfire and Xantech. Linear was “just” a home security manufacturer when Rummell… View this story

Arlen Schweiger | 12/21 11:42 AM, 0 Comments

Nortek (NASDAQ: NTK), the Providence, R.I.-based parent of many brands in the custom electronics industry, has named Michael J. Clarke as its new president and chief executive officer, effective Dec. 30. Clarke, who most recently served as group president of integrated network solutions at Singapore-based Flextronics International, takes over for longtime CEO Richard Bready, who retired. Following the transition, interim CEO J. David Smith will return to serving his position on Nortek's board. Clarke brings 25 years of experience "driving growth in both revenue and profitability within the technology and… View this story

Jason Knott | 09/29 07:55 AM, 1 Comment

Linear LLC, a division of Nortek, has announced the formation of its new Business Development Group, which will support several new markets and existing customers interested in customized product solutions ranging from individual components to private labeling (OEM), and new product design and development (ODM). “We’re making this group official,” says Todd Hokunson, vice president of the Business Development Group. “Linear has informally provided OEM services for many years, but with a growing volume in requests from customers and the changing market landscape, Linear decided to leverage and formalize these… View this story

Julie Jacobson | 08/29 11:12 AM, 8 Comments

It’s been more than a year since Elan Home Systems, Niles and Xantech joined forces under one umbrella, The AVC Group, LLC, a division of Nortek's (OTCBB: NTKS) Home Technology Group. The three companies are finally formalizing a new structure of collaboration, starting with a consolidation of rep firms from 45 down to 15. We’ve seen some collaboration from the entities in the past, but it has been little more than a bunch of handshakes and a commitment to help each other. Today, The AVC (Audio Video Control) Group is… View this story