The move is part of a restructuring and strengthening exercise within APG that began last year with the appointment of Xavier Pion to handle international sales and marketing, and was continued this year with the promotion of Mathieu Delquignes to the position of product manager.

‘I am in the fortunate position of having worked with Philippe in the past, so I am entirely confident in his ability to do a great job for us in this role,’ says Pion. ‘He knows most of the major players already and is very well respected amongst his peers. Philippe is just the person we need to implement our development strategy in France, which is to secure and reinforce our presence on the domestic market. We see this as a key element to our broader success, and it will in turn free up more resources to concentrate on the export market. It is pleasing to note that in these challenging times, APG is actually in a position to further its expansion whilst others are being forced to cut costs, and in some cases, jobs.’

Pelmelle’s role will be to develop APG’s business in France, building the networks of technical specialists, rental and sales partners. Sales development will be focussed on the new generation products, including Uniline, SMX15, DX12/DX15, and TB Subs with particular emphasis on the live market.

‘APG is synonymous with high-quality, technically advanced products,’ Pelmelle says. ‘I am particularly pleased to be joining at a time when the range of new generation products now extends into all domains, from a high-end line array system through to the new compact multipurpose DX cabinets, which are really making a big impact at the moment. While APG is already strong in France, I am confident that by putting the right partnerships in place, and capitalising on the success that APG already enjoys in its home market, we can become even stronger.’

More: www.apg.tm.fr