THIEL Audio Relocates to Nashville, Refocuses Brand Direction
After acquiring the company from Kathy Gornik, THIEL Audio’s new ownership is moving forward with a new business plan that includes the relocation of the company’s headquarters to Nashville.
THIEL Audio has relocated its headquarters to the greater Nashville, Tenn., area and the company’s new ownership has appointed John Wittman as CEO. Wittman joins THIEL Audio with a successful track record in consumer products, manufacturing, distribution and, most recently, the publishing industry.
In a press statement the company says Nashville’s deep roots in music and entertainment provide THIEL an ideal foundation for a makeover of the brand, which was founded in 1977.
“Being a part of the Nashville community is paramount for THIEL, a city founded on making legendary music,” notes Wittman.
In addition to relocating the company from Kentucky to Tennessee, THIEL is also putting together a revamped organization to help meet its new goals.
“Our future is dependent on balancing THIEL’s 37-year history without constraining innovation in order to dynamically meet the changing needs of our consumers,” Wittman points out.
The new THIEL Audio team includes Paul Fisher, who was recently named senior vice president of sales and marketing, as well as new hires in engineering, marketing, purchasing and operations departments with more staffing additions to follow. THIEL Audio is retaining long-time company employees Lana Ruth and Rob Gillum, who provide THIEL with a combined 40-plus years of audio industry experience to run the customer service and repair departments from its new facility in Lexington.
Wittman adds the company’s objective remain the same as the previous owners. “Our objective at THIEL first and foremost is to be a fresh and imaginative company, engineering and manufacturing premium products that represent outstanding craftsmanship as well as the highest levels of performance,” he states.
As part of the company’s new set of strategic goals, THIEL is placing an emphasis on designing new products to address a broad range of market segments, including the high performance audio, home theater and the custom installation markets. THIEL also plans to broaden the audience for THIEL Audio products by establishing key relationships for the brand, and making the line more visible to luxury buyers, in addition to its high levels of visibility in the audiophile market.
To fulfill its long-term plan, THIEL’s vice president of engineering Mark Mason is designing an entire new series of speakers to be unveiled in 2015.
“Everyone at THIEL is energized to be a part of such a vital and legendary brand, with an opportunity to execute our vision for truly innovative premium products and services,” Wittman points out.
During the 2014 CES Show this past winter THIEL provided event attendees a hint of what it was working when it displayed prototype versions of a new bookshelf speaker and an early version of a floorstanding loudspeaker product.
